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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike1 L3 G% K$ [# n* P' z5 w- P5 t
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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( j) D8 }, _- G8 L; xEdmontonians 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. - s4 c+ G# R; P& r& ~2 O: z
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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. ; {* ?- ]1 d7 j& c
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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
+ ^3 w; ^, w, ]"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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4 R n7 }- Y! i) [( `* ^- aA 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. $ k4 B/ v1 @7 a9 N, U! K5 u, B
/ O" u6 v. i; i0 oCoun. 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. 7 [' X8 y0 K6 Q$ I: b9 E
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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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8 e( K! ? N0 ~1 b8 s; t2 i"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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5 J0 M, Y0 e! B3 o1 O: E8 pMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. % d; t& |# ^+ A; y; |# i/ a: g7 ]$ l
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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. 3 |4 ?2 ?0 ^) U6 m" M
7 {& V0 \# r. e# ]/ f"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. , Z! W5 F, H3 W$ F2 m6 ?
8 n" D: M5 [- B1 N0 CScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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: i( t: S0 F4 n) GHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ' z: D1 T$ D9 c( t
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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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: J8 R/ P/ `5 s: M2 t e! @9 E"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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 4 C0 C6 T" f. s
w9 W2 X/ ^/ L% Z6 h8 FThe 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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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
