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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& |4 F# f3 c4 Y; @
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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3 @3 i- K7 T/ w& x6 }1 R) mEdmontonians 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. $ E- C5 y5 o) v& L. G
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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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 8 O$ ^% X6 ?% q+ R, B4 @
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates6 ^9 S/ @3 c3 X( `$ u7 r
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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" u, N$ f& a9 X; lA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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0 O# ~/ Q2 x, X; |6 L8 S0 g+ y/ h"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' b& \9 E5 W. J# E: S( W' O) _
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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' I5 }6 E6 u9 Y, L; dThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. + |, r- `" {/ F& j4 R
- T& a& F/ b3 G# {"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." & w( t6 L9 d( O$ P( `# ?/ Z% i
# s, w' o+ @9 t! qMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 2 Q( k. s4 s+ u, S1 D- t
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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. . B. y O$ q- D
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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. - z! A* e+ b0 Q
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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/ w6 J2 O# A+ d- L) a) ~
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"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."
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1 ]6 y+ q+ x0 g. [: h; w$ GThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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. P. o5 i+ `# A/ R9 p9 U
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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
