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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike6 b9 y: N! \4 E" f* _
. C+ W& g1 i2 d6 }Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ; m. U: L$ F$ k
) D* R! t" l6 A$ rEdmontonians 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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% T- [% r9 K; }/ GMandel 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. " k3 }; h# X4 w( X
9 G U E2 U& g"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 1 i7 K [8 w3 f) I4 m3 F4 h
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
2 n2 j* B B, E"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. + J! e6 b. F7 m5 K3 y& }
& f( m0 w9 G! c4 c0 U' a"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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; z& ]4 v# p0 Q& FCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ; K( W) W C T: n0 m, n- _3 f
G9 B. T: m+ m' K* n0 k4 @The draft budget does not come out until November.
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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. 4 Q) c1 R/ b4 q
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 7 T1 M) q- h6 M* n; x' T( t. [
; q) I7 x3 l9 H& e/ @Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. * W3 T& _: u3 A
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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. 3 `7 i( X( G& ]2 a4 {/ w
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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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. C' `, k. T) Y* ^1 P
0 W4 d0 N' x5 v( W3 UHe 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. C; z1 } c6 J3 C7 Z8 x6 C7 k% g
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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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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
