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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike! R) o' L% s, U) O% d0 o* ], b8 Y$ ^
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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9 s; N5 U" Z' E) B( w; }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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* M0 z4 `+ v4 U. `$ C. L& T, L$ iMandel 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 e+ L( K& b) d; Y* o- B- O# U) G
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + @$ T8 D% h" q; T* F7 ?
# @8 C: t) ?5 ]8 g) Y, zCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates5 l, L4 w `( p8 _
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ! Y0 v# T2 u% T/ W$ b
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. + n# t9 m# n- A
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 4 o% e: i( `) Y/ N" y" y
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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" X) L x2 J3 F- r3 Y7 ? E! |1 p0 H0 V"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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4 h- e$ E- T w. |3 E) l% n"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." . r' p$ H- Y, N4 _" P* v
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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" I% K4 r9 }; s; A! K6 i) D$ MHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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1 ~0 |$ A+ D. P/ ?* ["We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 9 ^4 l8 R1 \3 b0 q+ h0 G* k
, v' i1 D( t1 J3 @7 nScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 7 q4 l: `/ Y$ h' P
2 C1 z; G) E- {" R FHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 4 @% m- _1 F1 g" M
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"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." 1 A! O7 x1 s9 V6 k" G
- o) j+ x) u0 P* pThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 4 K4 M* d, v! z1 j" M/ V
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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. ' f% l. B9 Z9 h4 _* e, Z) m
x! k( ?- x! f6 R2 DTax 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
