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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike; Z* G' F' k6 q& L5 `, U
+ x& A; @0 C o6 h" lThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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- F6 j: O3 B' Q0 l+ [6 e( M1 lEdmontonians 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. 0 k* S" ^6 O1 `
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Mandel 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
' V- {9 M$ t b( |"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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! K% y$ g+ s2 K6 i* A+ l* I: }A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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! c" o" r1 {4 @- P, ~" H"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' W; ^& |/ S# y
) |( w& V/ G; S& y3 Z7 n. f5 mCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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" d) k. d9 j) c- cThe draft budget does not come out until November. 2 a0 Q2 ?# ~" i
: r3 e) p) K% j: T"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. : L6 [- W! _, o# N' i
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ! U# i* g! |* o D
" z) K' w' K+ A) m3 O6 o5 [Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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! H8 Q' R B8 S$ ZHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ; }1 q m& b7 x) \. O
8 L! u' b) J3 d9 m# \* R"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 o5 _- @- `- ^7 R' R g
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. " ?+ d( }0 v" M" }1 W9 V0 q" Q
+ c3 X5 ^; h: v- r4 f8 _He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. / }3 V7 ^; G. d& F
( x1 S! e% e' b& X* F( f% N"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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; b. ~) ^7 S+ L$ l* H6 [8 F7 a4 gThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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$ c7 X1 n9 n/ ]: vThe 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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" F- T& c6 ?; U! a8 P* eTax 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
