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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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! t& {5 f7 U, o- B: PThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. 5 a( k# F- a& X# e+ `3 c4 O
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Mandel 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. ; z% H8 X0 ^+ u* E4 p6 l
: F5 T Z& E) q"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 3 e& s( D/ c. a
9 l, `1 e( T$ M+ E: u. H' [City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates/ Q8 H; j- e5 Q; y. @
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. % S2 B% B0 f( q0 w# F" k0 U$ d/ A
1 f/ U" A- g2 v: Q1 {' p. \% xA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' ?4 G- L& w" S9 W5 ~% y, b, h
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. * k$ Z, |1 e# t6 O0 \. B5 ^
Q2 X0 E! m9 M1 b: W% ]2 l6 ^$ zThe draft budget does not come out until November. / C# d' r4 |1 D) A
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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. / g. X1 Z u4 ~* f X
$ M4 I* f/ W5 R8 y% j6 P. ?- J"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." , C5 H5 n: @# ~8 I, u9 \+ m
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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) C" V! t0 e! @5 ?7 B( VHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. : ?$ \4 m. e2 L4 ]7 S$ P
/ X) [+ p& U/ t1 R. I"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. & R! v7 f- w0 }: S+ ]( h
& t) ]9 m" R9 `- sScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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) C' n8 i( v6 FHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 7 i" c# W- J8 c9 i, H
% r6 i9 H3 F$ E+ S$ f! y* I"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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8 P3 z: U: w0 d2 H5 T, _"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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# R- T# J3 k! p0 ~2 C" tThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. . s; y7 U8 a2 w* W6 x
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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.
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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
