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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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$ O4 G8 Q" f; p) B: b9 F) {Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. / D# f7 Y( Y) U3 o/ r0 [
! _+ u/ b( Q/ P6 _' Z* J; I& \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 y/ ?2 p* H' k( \; H
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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.
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+ x& ^6 t5 E/ Q7 Y"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. : |: f& P; E$ {
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates4 `1 b! n: e% }( Z4 I+ a
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ) V3 {) |- s T' n
- `) d0 F' U' s3 DA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 0 d! D9 M1 O+ E5 M6 f
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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+ Y! u( ~/ o, ^The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 j( U9 ? ]) o
1 z5 l/ Z0 o# `$ Y; f) h"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. 1 {2 l B6 g: U! s9 Y
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 i0 G+ |9 s( x6 _( E6 t
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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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. . J$ j1 P) X# R& I, T5 J) U
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 7 B4 E l% c: J2 n0 G# v
; X7 l+ H- ]0 `9 k; iHe 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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0 z2 ^! p4 z) k; m"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." 9 M5 B% e, c; `3 k. u
$ @! s2 t; h9 p% w( L2 T8 nThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 o1 D6 @4 W @6 X4 N
+ d1 B* C/ @ T! VThe 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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9 z1 T$ g K" q7 s, m. Y9 E. ^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
