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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike7 y; e' R& n: ^" C
4 M( w0 r: y; ?* I9 PThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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& ^4 q* H) w' S/ h. u7 ~4 uEdmontonians 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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/ F. O1 C: ^2 Q( X P4 RMandel 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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4 |: Z7 f( @+ B- j, I"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ( M/ b, V6 i$ P. T! q( ?" k
7 b9 z) x9 g v7 u1 D& q, Y- P7 HCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
' X: Z2 D6 H" W1 p7 M/ l& @2 Z. ?"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 4 h, y- C i/ j# W* z9 c3 u: ^
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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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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. - G* h+ S: W" h3 l a
: @0 z% P" ?3 B. W7 ]The draft budget does not come out until November.
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9 V' b8 d; J) n- J2 T) P4 x1 R"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. ; \+ d3 n6 K9 w b0 r3 K+ F# P
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + V5 g: ]% D9 n4 w6 u3 W" V7 K. _
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. % l' ^! q# `0 N" m* s
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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. 7 ]' B3 J4 S3 Y
+ v" _' Q) \ |8 Y; S"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.
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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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"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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. . P5 l1 a% ?# \8 [& ~$ @
$ B9 l6 n! I- [8 fThe 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. + G" |' S% e6 ~' E
3 D, Z+ t9 `, m, f4 b' g% STax 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
