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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 0 }5 q, |" `+ A* M" x1 }
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Edmontonians could face a "scary" tax hike of up to 10% next year, Mayor Stephen Mandel said. That would be the highest property tax increase since the 1980s.
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" _+ D% f9 w8 f9 b! a7 z9 X0 TMandel tossed out the figure yesterday following a presentation by administration that outlined the intense economic pressures the city is facing as a result of Alberta's economic boom. 2 U/ @' \, L8 Q Q0 D. p: H" z
% b+ A2 h, @, Z( H+ Q$ L% O1 A"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 6 H7 D; w3 V) C0 x: R1 [* |
) @- [; ~' q: z, t4 Z0 H6 g' sCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
3 x, T0 {+ \$ r+ A& |"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / B9 \( n% q/ {+ Z% B
3 M0 ~" q/ R9 HA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. + O. H- W7 x3 L# i1 O
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 1 D9 t& N! m( v3 b, ]9 j3 ^: C' H2 Y, |
% P! w& }* W0 ^: cCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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0 q8 m. c9 U0 }+ W K0 p' Q"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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a e Z2 j# L5 V% X"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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+ C1 Q# k( k0 ?+ f5 W: XMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 1 W1 y. M" w! {1 L% o8 _
3 N3 L" m' @" w& o- uHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. " O* Q' Z8 H4 k5 C( ^
6 a# x1 B/ `$ \$ @, }& G3 C$ H"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. # r: o; h! L0 h& {
2 c4 {! c) K8 m; N# f8 ?Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 z1 S$ N: e" M! C
% t% W! l5 ~+ s- _. D2 d0 ]He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 6 s0 T" m" F2 I+ N6 m8 T
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"I don't know what some of these members of council are going to be able to say to some pensioner who got a 2% hike in their pension."
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: D" t0 F N' s' D& e! ^0 r8 BThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. , b% r& T. `3 e! S, N' x) N
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The tax on homes will go up higher than average - about 7%. The figures include both municipal tax and the provincial education tax, which the city collects. / [' o! z6 l w* Y8 G$ J3 w
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Tax bills will be mailed May 25 and payments are due June 30. |
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发表于 2007-5-9 22:25
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发表于 2007-5-10 11:37
