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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.
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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. ' d2 ?9 j2 y3 V" A8 u
5 g9 I7 b2 l3 Z" M/ K: Q"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + N4 ~3 i6 x- e( ], P5 R( O
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates! d( s% v+ d( }: ^' d8 z
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 2 X$ O$ `9 ]0 y; U
: Q! u+ [4 _+ Q* O' q: Y' eA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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$ R, c S1 x2 n7 l' E"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. 0 }3 a1 R6 c9 N3 o
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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. ' W6 s! e8 e! q1 ~4 \ M L7 z
( Y+ j3 Z; _1 D9 g& o% p) \"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." # {2 ~, Y+ Z4 X5 S { E2 }
, I* |3 i& Q2 Z/ h! GMaurer 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. ' z3 R2 x# h7 Y; F+ n# N
* M+ A# s& r/ a% ` f"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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$ K6 x# ?7 R/ @/ ^- lScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ! a; O* E6 x7 B( v) n3 H3 I0 g
4 N; V O- X* UHe 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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3 W9 P% J+ o$ F/ [2 Z" F. X) f! i"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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7 o( x* x8 \+ ^5 N, \. n"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." / \# {; z8 C4 C# u
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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. . A8 h' a W8 x' u9 ]
# c1 l4 h( G7 i+ O/ l* XTax 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
