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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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3 m/ W0 H& }) y/ G' f- c6 d5 D3 X1 SEdmontonians 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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# z3 F W# p2 u- I/ M3 ^/ uMandel 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. 9 W2 N+ }& J$ l+ v9 ?
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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 estimates4 `( A! [! g- ~4 i* p$ m
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. $ p+ R/ k% B; F
, _5 U' l5 X( P6 u$ E% J) jA 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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+ r% Q/ y& o5 eCoun. 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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! E M4 K, z! zThe 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. $ |( Y8 i m) s$ ^
: w3 b1 U/ [- \6 d"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. $ g7 a: A7 L) t2 M+ C
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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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- o. G! {& e& h, T. Y4 T"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 4 }" _* ~# H. m8 i
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 5 q2 Y, ]7 u/ S; k# O& f$ L+ } a
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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.
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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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" W; e- f9 S$ y+ c ]% F# \/ Y- 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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. $ k3 J7 d5 M5 x0 h- |0 }# @/ V1 V
, l9 n+ q, ~$ j4 Y3 TThe 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. 0 J9 H* Y9 l. u" [2 _
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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
