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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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' ~+ i2 E; l M' Z9 yThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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) _: N' C% i& c. I4 w: }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. 2 `# g/ y) `8 L) b1 j, f
+ O7 h+ f; ^$ S. u% B, T! iMandel 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. ; g! @, |. O* m# K
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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
' T7 i+ N! z7 f6 z$ a2 M"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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7 O0 z0 ]! M& T K3 \" pA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. " y4 t' A( x8 h* S
5 c6 q1 n/ H5 ]4 L"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 6 _! z6 P# x9 K- y( f
1 Q9 `' _9 g$ a"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 0 r q( }; [/ u3 _ H1 @6 h Y
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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.
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! R- j5 h! H" U- t* p, D"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. 7 g( G$ _, T+ ]# J7 f
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. # @: R' n( C" s. F
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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." 4 [! E; a2 x( i5 v' w
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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. ! _/ B2 b) ^& k* [( S9 s
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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
