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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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[% N$ \& H0 h$ X$ PThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. & e& V1 J; w0 N v" B( G8 r
; v& S9 B6 V. b2 X. p! cEdmontonians 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. 2 J1 e/ g }& R* r ?" {2 g4 o
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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. - x& B5 @. L e9 d( W
: @* _8 v' D: [% A$ _"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. x' O" ]: ]6 b( b/ P+ a C" M
) P! n! Y* I2 A, k6 Q4 ~City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates2 B; N6 H: E* e* B
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 2 G& t' R; F- a, g$ _, V4 H! _
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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3 t1 c. _* G; L0 K" kThe draft budget does not come out until November. / W! g. t* c( J- x
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 2 Q& I' t) z5 K6 x$ n% A2 e4 H
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 9 c" j4 j. O8 A) U/ W
/ q8 V: n, M8 Z7 T, xHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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4 H, ?* {4 j0 L4 L5 i2 _"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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: [3 E. X2 ^) `" EScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ) y+ G+ z0 K. O/ ]' s' S" K
/ Z* M/ c; z( s/ {5 O9 RHe 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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- j& s7 O" c' l" ["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." ( m. z- A A! R% q! V: F
& N- {* |0 b' q7 ?0 cThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 4 J- d" K1 h) O+ X
' x1 ~9 R7 T2 m0 v3 G* B, @& k+ ?8 oThe 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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" H# V+ Z* l8 M0 m. |' x JTax 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
