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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike! g3 Z! q- z+ E( Y3 h( p
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 4 d2 [9 U6 _ f
1 A2 l* h6 F' s0 uEdmontonians 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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# j) |0 _0 d6 C0 lMandel 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.
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$ B( u0 E( a1 C: X"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + q: b7 O- N u/ q( k. A( A
' N" C- \* P- Z+ F" m% z6 V" q8 U1 OCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% L; }* e- t0 ^1 t% R
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 R! `" u7 L8 e" ~
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. . d$ p( U; R4 M. V7 w
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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. ( G/ h8 E a/ ~. U: o A/ p
/ N8 w8 S5 j! S+ c$ X! pCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 0 V) e; |) J3 n; Y
( P% ]* B9 r' ^& u3 ^* sThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." - n0 N0 Y) s, V
! P& O7 ~7 L8 y( D; {' PMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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7 D' N, \; q* THowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ( r+ {$ }( I8 y- F4 c
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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& n. k; O" R" sScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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" C; Q: s, u& a* A; T0 V/ r( uHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. q7 r/ ]. b4 H+ f% p
1 d, s* p8 H1 {5 l9 q- R"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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." ) t3 ]$ @9 E$ F% C( `
" i4 X8 s/ y1 N' _. IThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. + |, P/ c: f2 ^7 _- V% i
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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. # w$ i8 @" l d) C
8 ?% ]1 V2 v9 ZTax 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
