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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& {, l: {1 U- T+ ^* @: n3 E7 h
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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1 M( X) i4 C5 G& BEdmontonians 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. " g5 y0 X+ H3 @
3 e f0 r: u" J7 u% r8 X h8 xMandel 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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; C: H- H/ O3 E8 J5 E0 F, n$ h8 z"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 7 E) m. Y0 n4 _
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
; x; v+ H! Z0 [- A$ g b"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( I; J9 {: F, t2 g: j
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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2 d8 T1 h# n) |; N. _Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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+ r( [0 E0 A, S& h+ S8 e1 KThe draft budget does not come out until November. , m( E8 c; t, ~" n- I
. Y M3 n8 l" W z7 V* E"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." , P6 R$ k& K$ X
4 ^6 R8 B$ e6 _1 y/ mMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. % \$ M, p; @ Z/ ?
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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. _( u5 H' u' \( J
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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.
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5 Z. D& x0 O. c$ P: BScott 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. % W$ _; n$ U$ u; g6 E" d7 G" U, k
$ r$ x! ^! h3 l2 ?/ y"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." / x. U3 ?/ `" d5 b& P( w7 N2 r
$ b0 V" A3 z+ l; k* q- s3 nThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 6 N- ~6 n, s$ U0 a! f
- B* K0 R ]) t2 r% t. C L) JThe 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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0 t h2 t5 C1 v" t- s' P: Y, CTax 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
