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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.
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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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+ z. m) G- P6 bMandel 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. $ V6 K$ R; M( P, C- J# h6 S! Q
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 5 G2 t5 ]9 |4 p) ^( [
& B+ @ s9 |* i4 uCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
" s4 V6 F3 J5 x' d"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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) D( I" Y1 \; n) C, wA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 3 D$ ]. }; \+ S8 ~( q1 t
; C% B) Q" z1 ~) |. _"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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% K! m: W8 H: P4 S0 m1 gCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 9 i: C' \6 _' K$ o7 n; I
7 y: T$ f4 M, r1 N; z3 R) kThe draft budget does not come out until November. 4 Y& k; |1 o8 }
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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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3 {% L; | Y3 m) ["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. 6 \7 S4 ?4 ]8 R8 O
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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. % V7 ]; j: ^2 x# w: l* B
' M* x8 J0 w2 f; ~7 b"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. ) k- A. ]/ e$ M- \9 {: ?, Q
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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. O( m- r% P) ?1 Y3 M
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ! D' s6 \6 |( }
% ` W9 V! j5 r"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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' K: f; b4 u2 Y" E+ i% C4 SThe 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.
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/ x2 w, w$ ^& [$ Q5 BTax 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
