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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike. S, _! u$ k( {, X- a8 \
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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; s4 c' k& Q$ Q( ^. KEdmontonians 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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+ ?$ G) m4 P* cMandel 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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; J2 e+ |: e! C; {3 G( h& A5 KCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates8 K% D \$ {* U* ~* p6 ^! |) @
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. " g+ I! y4 ?1 |, [4 R8 |+ i
+ {6 i& I' U5 w3 O3 @A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 2 a2 j/ V6 H2 Q' n5 B! `, b! ]6 k. |
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ! d/ h0 l. l- |% ~) R5 P3 l
1 y$ W% ?$ ]2 G"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. w! x2 B% C4 V$ @$ p4 n. S9 t
$ a u9 ~4 O$ R' c+ G"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." - ~9 B1 {& Z2 o0 J4 }8 \: [
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 9 [/ c% E8 l8 l. y0 g/ }' s# X5 h
" O" W* ^ f, N! z& p* Q# P6 ]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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$ j/ c, a& E+ u1 l& J"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ) q2 U6 \/ ?4 }6 F( v
7 l+ N' S3 ~. s0 N FScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. / o# N& ~" v4 V2 U$ v. `
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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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6 ]/ r: o* \ L1 s4 S$ J"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. . f O% u6 e1 w _3 X' I
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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."
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B R. h8 A- G' T6 d6 f( W B( y! [The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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7 a' x$ |. h/ G, _, P( S0 `8 v. Z9 M. 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. 7 c2 }/ v( o& \4 ~
7 O: z1 y$ E0 ~# n- ATax 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
