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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& R6 ]( ]& u2 \# l7 ]0 N
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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8 {$ J& Q# r! o' Q, NEdmontonians 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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+ }/ T; G/ ]* MMandel 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. 4 k: b" F% m! L% l4 H$ L( `& u
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
1 |1 ]. p& y% g1 z"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. . ]* T: G2 W V8 G. n$ e
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. : S: h4 [4 `2 j
R/ j. q, \6 ^7 R"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 6 w! o) p) A4 k& U x" @. a
- z& I( i* \1 }# l5 Q0 K4 }Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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. U! \# w3 z! L: rThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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) {" _2 w* U" R( L5 ]6 U" i8 X"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. / ]" }8 Q+ H- J! A! E5 q9 E
/ a. V- g0 A" d) _"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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! v: I6 W3 \. y% {6 W* b( |, z9 oMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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: @- s# g' x( o) q"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 U4 s" I s9 z7 a" c6 M
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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/ W0 z ~5 l$ P"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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." # d) _5 s/ c1 D5 ?/ K# H0 S
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 8 y }" s f- h) Y$ k
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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. % N, Z$ x5 y7 g1 m4 Q/ z! O
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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
