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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. V) x$ G" r. x2 [' t
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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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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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- P6 N/ F! j/ F# FCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
& L) ]7 p$ V+ t8 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 $200 a year.
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9 g7 G7 M9 J8 S$ N" 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.
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6 N1 Y2 o) G3 O0 P$ ^& \2 TCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. . d8 f1 Q2 d9 F& a
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The draft budget does not come out until November. , Z, ]7 g. a; `) A
! ]/ {& W) J% B"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. R$ n v) {- k/ \1 z' ~# Y$ ?
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." % \, N" d1 o. u& `+ s7 [
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 5 P* X: I" l! G
" c& A% e4 A: @ Y* DHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 2 l( a) _7 h: O- c0 R# c; [
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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. & H0 V' }7 o2 b9 T5 q' V
e6 C/ d$ L2 D' F' FScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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" h* Y6 v- i3 S; h0 BHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. * j i% m" s/ G, P( b
: j; I1 [8 i8 H/ J+ S: O' v9 g% M2 {"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ! b2 V9 T8 L! E7 R# }; C
/ X" w1 d* |# [- m7 g/ o- g. v"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." $ s0 r, F1 [$ @: A K
5 l; H8 G& o6 T0 M8 G/ xThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 2 O1 Q7 D( r4 }; S
2 V9 J/ f. y0 \! lThe 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. " {" l7 s5 c) G" E3 U+ P
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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
