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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. * [# W5 i5 b0 v2 \- z
9 ^& l# N' ?( YEdmontonians 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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/ ^ i- C& V' Q1 O) R6 w; BMandel 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.
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: p" ?, S& W0 ?1 `4 iCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( ]0 c- H+ Y. Y% s# l+ C5 S
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 i8 l0 i( ~4 J0 s0 B
! z6 `5 O/ e2 F* J/ E& AA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ( L9 {8 b) f* H, V6 b
0 f2 {, U) E) H1 `. S"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. & F n0 k) h) ]" p W0 Z9 a
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : w2 l" y& Q5 {- n
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ; B4 h2 |& @. x# L
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ! @6 G7 a' K9 r% d9 U
# h# l- B5 y% f! S6 u9 g"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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& K: H% Y$ ^( c n5 D8 R7 oHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ! |# F" {: B" C4 U6 U; B R
$ ]; S8 t1 b8 T8 [4 |( w# y; QScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ( t$ H/ U, P" p1 s: C* L
, U, p4 @% T, @" X& i* j, RHe 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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* r$ J' ?, B, D/ o* h"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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1 z3 s/ b i9 e2 r3 w"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.
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0 _ n X4 |& ?4 O" K sThe 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. / c6 r8 d$ x% z0 p- \0 u( H/ ^
2 v$ i1 A) ^+ p! c$ QTax 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
