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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. 7 z3 Y4 J! M- W7 A& J' H& u
1 o# y' @, G0 _3 I7 s" Q- W( DEdmontonians 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. # B, N# h$ y$ |; I
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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. + Q6 o+ D/ S/ Y* {$ z
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates- y# \2 P' g: p1 [ W! C
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. : t9 U5 C/ w* f" A6 W
- k1 S( I' h/ W( G/ O9 x) MA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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$ n0 G( r) N9 _0 ICoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. & C) v- l% b2 y9 Q) ?" K
0 V1 h$ j- W& H4 m) XThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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+ ^0 i) p! @* B) w"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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' {$ b5 ~* z0 ^* M) P& a) T"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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d) b( n( e; X% d9 _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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9 e: X$ O9 x2 x% _! s"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. # o2 `( h& K' W: y
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Scott 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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& w; @" t/ l' u"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." : I/ S7 y- ?& i" A; a
' w% p/ ? s7 Z$ ?! } qThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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& y2 h @ [3 HThe 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. & s2 W b8 m' X( t8 x3 ]
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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
