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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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% |' r a* V5 {; O+ jThink 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. 7 ]+ X) X0 ~4 u, U9 e6 p7 Y
! w8 A7 r, y$ h! j5 u' l. ? hMandel 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. ) V4 K# h8 \2 h: m) F
% O/ ^' x2 X/ Q8 M E3 n5 B6 a"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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$ W3 V# ?: x0 O& Z6 G5 C8 MCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates1 ]! R* y; P6 f; S4 r# a7 G$ _, O: N
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. $ \9 Y! w9 r7 l
# T" d$ j. ^6 _$ @; Y6 ^: uA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. % t" o% y% M) g% O: G
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. & o& \5 Q/ X' W- E
2 y. Z" @2 V5 b% @2 @$ 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. + |0 ]5 [: g- g! n: p3 {# ]
3 [ U. A0 D/ B" ]3 `/ j) }"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ' M4 |7 v) R2 [/ j% T7 H% G
2 r% K5 G$ k: f. ?# FHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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: A8 j4 X6 K" i3 }( J& s8 s"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. . k& C) t w6 P/ x) X% L7 C
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ' V; E0 G* f1 @1 y
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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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. : e* D- ]/ c5 y0 _0 q* X' c* M
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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." j4 Y, }: {/ L
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. # j7 j& t, ^, J" t
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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.
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. e1 I! _7 G5 X; U$ }' ~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
