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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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4 p6 J& [+ _6 R+ EThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. " B& S f( Z6 }" J/ y3 T
' d: m! x9 k) [. T$ D i! JEdmontonians 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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6 s4 F" w$ r- T2 }$ b. H, r$ ]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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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. A3 K- I9 _% Y! J Q9 e. hCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates3 d2 w1 j. U1 L: X5 S
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ; i& U' z/ B: |! P
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. & @$ H( n0 B0 k4 i, w$ x: g
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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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$ Y2 L! T0 L9 }. Q7 z9 i"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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- l0 b# V* F% E0 C* \- r) R"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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Y: ~* ]1 z+ g4 s2 L/ ]: ?' }# `"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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+ U, f, m% F* F! c5 i$ oScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 4 B4 o7 z0 i) |5 s N+ c! C
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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.
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) u( W; j# Q/ `8 g7 k3 I"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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9 d/ c0 m0 G; h: jThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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) Y' ^ } h8 \, a! xThe 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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' A7 Y5 S$ \6 F; {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
