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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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0 I/ [6 B! c7 [1 U! x/ M: }5 wThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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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7 c3 i' x7 d! l% W; M3 FMandel 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. & N; B3 e& K8 ~ G6 s' M
* v% k$ W. j/ A3 E, i5 m1 P"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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+ t% S( ]# h4 d: U5 @City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
: m0 }4 z# G0 t+ h8 V! {1 k"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. % m- ?/ @; b- a' P' H# \) I8 C
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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2 I/ ?% |& p s8 P# W4 pCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 0 q9 y3 s3 n) X9 R1 D; E
; S4 @/ {& O+ j' wThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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6 T4 }- z$ p4 o2 F R"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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4 G4 _- J* b0 A9 ? _0 f1 S"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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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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- H5 \4 X5 t2 c1 D) G"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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6 a) R) b2 l) ^, WScott 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. 7 L% v' E. `! _6 s
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 8 x* k% c/ T) K1 B# g
]- I" R) f$ H! Z9 h @& t"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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" V4 m' b- x- JThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. / \; D1 L. t) u& D+ e
, h( D3 w6 P/ H. j2 L/ t4 h; mThe 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
