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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. - P: b9 B; Q5 G, Z+ w8 |
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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.
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1 [+ i9 o+ h* y, ^5 G0 ^4 HMandel 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. / G, j9 h6 V8 y D) u7 T
( V7 } R! P) ]8 u5 @0 V, H ["Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ; _" c- I5 p* V- H9 [6 I& Q
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( u6 p: V5 s; j( e3 X$ G3 \, W" @6 ~
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. # D& C" S/ l# k& D" j7 B. {
5 L! L) b, B7 W: I# P2 [% JA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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3 k, D" | I; Q8 N8 N- i, n. C- Y"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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5 z' _$ D. p; j" p* iThe draft budget does not come out until November. 3 x3 A5 C/ d7 S$ v: U
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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."
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5 m5 x8 o# r4 m. f0 eMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 8 K, z6 Q8 R! e8 w
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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. ! P1 C8 l+ j$ p9 M& r1 [" `
5 C y5 _4 o2 l* n( X6 o"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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 q$ S, V: N/ k" W& q
Z" d) `+ k8 T# i4 h/ W9 f. GHe 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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! x' r- K5 G8 v% Z"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. D$ g7 L& D2 X& n8 z. T0 @
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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." 5 J' S/ r8 q; Y% r# ?3 y D
+ h) a) |2 B' Y2 p: _7 o2 |* |% UThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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8 P9 H6 T0 V9 ?4 s5 L2 h" z% Z/ F: q, tThe 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. ; n ]. }+ _* L+ I( O
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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
