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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. / [, N% s/ |3 R" V3 h
7 _% e. }! E9 {' A. D/ I" s* ?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. - [1 P& M5 `1 P
}: C, J0 P$ {, ]" E, i+ fMandel 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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. L$ v! q! Y- }, N2 v6 O1 d) NCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates6 E8 C- N2 D( V2 M" j& T3 G0 o
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 2 T& k6 T" g, ^! d7 i* D4 w: z4 H/ m- O
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 1 S2 S$ D& B$ H3 C% ]
1 K( u9 y) Q6 c- Q"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. / @; I" P1 g: f. k
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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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/ N" u" C; @4 {- }The draft budget does not come out until November. 4 Y4 O0 l U. ~2 ]1 m* V8 x; a
- ?% ^7 s: q! K( E"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." ) c- g6 X/ x- |5 i; X" ~! @
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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. 1 j* A2 Z0 V: f9 y" S: I; h. \
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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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4 K6 Y: H' Z; I8 JScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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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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8 D% c. [' T( T8 n( g"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. " _" l4 r* g- I+ \# d- J8 K
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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." 7 I- \2 h! m# F* X6 m3 T5 ^3 D$ C
% s5 p( ^. |6 s$ B! N' JThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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. . A+ E+ U/ b" n4 |1 r7 M
5 o& k8 P# B' G [7 rTax 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
