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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike3 w& Z `+ _, j- r
% T6 l5 R2 s' t! O, GThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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2 z$ ]+ A% ~, Z! ~. G1 l2 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.
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! ~) E" M7 y( [# X. jMandel 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. ) y& H+ t4 o+ t
5 |# @/ o$ y# l( S. A/ J' o# k"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ) @- {0 O2 J' x& {, l
Z! J; {) I& O% p# V1 }City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates4 X/ z/ G0 x+ l5 ^) U( P
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 7 }! f" z& m1 N x) w8 B
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. % N# p' A! T$ B, {5 ~* h
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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.
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8 z. b$ |% a1 H4 n U, xCoun. 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.
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/ Z9 V' b: [ N2 P! Z5 y7 _: H"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. % |5 N6 O: x4 F7 _
, ?- H" @8 m" G" N o"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 7 A' @2 c5 G+ D& c2 J+ \8 e: `5 P5 E/ w
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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& j) X& Q/ F! ]) M$ l7 f6 HHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ! S6 ? a- l6 Z! P2 x: M- n
5 A! W1 a* ?0 B- A. g/ ^) H# N4 y" e"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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! W6 X$ h# r) a HScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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* o8 w, a" n1 ]6 M" pHe 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. % F# W( W5 ^: `: |8 h
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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." % \! h# p( f# Q& \' d
4 e8 y9 f7 e9 p! |, u# MThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 8 s4 g% f( i5 S1 h U) S
4 u- ~, N, R- T. @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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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
