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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. # V5 J( Y- J- w/ P( `
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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. ( _; z: N# C9 e ?) x% ]
! E7 R2 t9 Y) Q' S+ y1 }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.
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+ B8 L. n! n( v9 ^7 w- C"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; Y( k8 h: ^* t
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 m! D3 K, U/ B9 \& H
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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; L" k ^ f0 R. ~# FCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. % m. U, k9 \, ` z
* d! L6 O* _1 C+ [7 PThe draft budget does not come out until November. , D7 h: y2 s) c5 G
. v/ ]1 Q6 K6 B3 m"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 1 w" C- w6 J; K9 m' R+ _- B
, d1 ~, B5 U% F2 T; o" x/ n"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 3 j1 m1 u5 } z/ K3 l0 ^; i
. P% G {8 d/ p% k! l( D0 QMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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! E' A0 X, g; {- c% Z v& BHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 1 g6 [' T$ B+ ]/ |9 z3 G# f6 F
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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. , d3 G$ a! F6 M( B* s
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 0 H6 T7 Z0 q* ?5 H% k) K! a P
3 A9 p* U I! B7 h& o: WHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 9 B; p/ \7 Q4 r% b; l+ z! ^3 c ?
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. - s* |5 z8 T! L) h) P, C
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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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ( z7 U) I0 ]9 Z1 M; U; `( b
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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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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
