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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.
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0 ^0 y8 a' f( I' J7 v# PEdmontonians 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. . C: R! `& B X
9 b9 N6 |4 Y- ?2 e. VMandel 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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, e! m @; L) |2 e: v ^7 Y% ?+ n"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. " x! O2 t, E& ?5 A
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates4 j2 S# K7 q& W5 X2 g$ N' G- v
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ' X" B& u+ M& S) s
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 0 z- w* @, K4 w: h# h0 U, q
. `! d) g- |* x, u"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. # n) h' w& J7 t
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 3 L, J+ R' q$ I B' s* ~4 W
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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( O- A2 s0 V. T"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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; F; t- k9 U- c! V"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 1 K0 p' k9 t* b
( y; f$ C' S9 g& y+ NMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 3 X, `$ |' ^: |4 X) G
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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. * l8 A9 r9 R t+ A6 ?
3 i/ S5 Q/ l" ~% [. m b"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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) Y+ n/ E3 h1 o/ q# bScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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2 N; M2 r0 B9 V; m& M1 Y lHe 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. 8 |2 O$ ^) L3 z3 D* n+ q
, e4 C( c; R: a F"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." ( c) Q+ f1 o$ r; s. C
6 @* Q( A7 [3 I J* k# J( XThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. + J! |) ?: c# b6 p1 [ t! } o
1 b2 h% h+ O! u; k* D) Q8 [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. ' [% y4 I' o* {2 o9 }( E) N
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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
