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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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/ {. a, K9 O! g' I, CEdmontonians 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- w7 p; @8 q2 R8 vMandel 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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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates* @- Q' g* d/ G0 z
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 U, K4 Y; r6 O5 O
7 u; B/ L# h% T; g" q4 MA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. - H+ V3 P' L( r6 x0 O* [
2 D) r- `4 R6 Y3 X9 Z! D' J"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 2 u ^$ \) Y! Q( Y+ c4 g
+ d m8 d' }% e; zCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : ]: v3 r1 h$ v* ]
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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% i8 p9 x3 s1 C"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. 0 } o0 T' `7 K# K/ k; b% H
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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! L, J7 ?8 b2 z" KMaurer 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.
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: f+ H! P4 y8 Y( g6 J! _- JScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. % C0 V z7 A; c/ b6 ^4 {
' m2 [6 h+ H4 ]* z8 Y3 OHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. + c: I+ u @) \6 f% ]) a1 L+ f2 n
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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B! z1 a1 a& ?5 p"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." : b5 e f& n" k+ b
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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+ ?* w9 ?* I4 `9 Y; F: GThe 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. # z6 T0 y1 S$ O4 z9 R2 ?
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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
