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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike" g3 i2 F* s% |( |, Z% C
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. - u, r4 J: i9 F' l
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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.
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, r& |. ~4 W( a f4 I) [ 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. / X1 Y; r7 A `$ {" q6 Q1 _/ p
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"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
" H0 ?+ K3 o2 [% p! X2 n"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 0 L) n, v5 {2 I, ?7 H, x
+ \7 }1 A* u1 @3 k$ L, l1 IA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. / K& |7 Q: @$ m3 J+ P
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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. 7 `+ @3 o8 y& i, V' R7 c
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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.
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0 [1 u" O* }$ h3 ^2 KThe draft budget does not come out until November. ' j" z: N( E/ c! f
! E. A# }' O( I: J" M. o |"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. 0 K4 N) a5 P9 Q
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 3 i5 M$ A- P! k5 g
8 J: s" G$ f* F: y n' k$ c, SMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. * t( P4 C6 A6 x; `
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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.
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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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 N1 O% r& O) S4 I [
X& C4 w% d, yHe 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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: r1 _5 i5 h1 i0 n! d"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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/ X8 D! V2 w# G# l9 X- \"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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/ L4 `% j0 y9 e2 L; V) I7 FThe 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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3 Q. W$ H3 P. d0 x! |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
