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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike$ B. d; `2 H |7 H' g# [ P+ d
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ) L+ z3 D, s; {0 F+ \5 M7 m+ m0 F
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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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6 C8 [2 T7 w/ |9 S W! P, g9 JMandel 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. u0 @! B6 }8 ~7 t6 T
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates. S+ y" F7 p2 o# [: o' |4 H# x
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 7 b) _: o+ D. g
4 ^6 \, w6 k4 v0 nA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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0 F/ n9 u/ D6 k: }+ o/ u$ qThe draft budget does not come out until November. * c/ g5 ^5 D( M6 s8 V2 H; r
8 I2 n$ {! \9 S: x"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. " S) l, ?, R; y) h5 D* B: l
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." . a: U% l6 B8 C" b) N4 _3 _
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 6 E2 v8 g3 n! ?; R% S
" l) X- r; [& B" w7 d, x1 ?8 KHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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/ m8 K( W' ^/ k1 o"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. : q4 _1 K' z, K) M0 s# ~
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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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# `0 I/ `6 \' m" ]"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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: t0 B1 `) D% G* R. _- f( s2 ]( n0 H"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." ' R7 S. V/ x3 S, @; k! k2 Z
0 s0 K: m4 ?& q. DThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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: ^7 A8 O8 x2 b1 Y; 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.
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- g% ^& i4 }0 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
