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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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r, H7 M' P4 H. H, H! ]Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. - w6 Y9 r. W5 x; E2 [- h
: @# K9 r( s0 i y5 y# ` TEdmontonians 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. ; \3 p4 d9 Z1 m1 J4 _3 t4 g/ s
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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.
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/ T& ~/ Y0 s& k& Q4 DCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
$ c) |. y+ M* A% M- l, N"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 5 l! F/ j l7 p5 O+ b
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 Q1 x& f3 ~8 `
. ]. y( b9 U" D: c"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 3 Q+ o, U' R* e& o
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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$ q2 r" a j5 T7 HThe draft budget does not come out until November. + O* A- o) i% r: L! ]# I. n
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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.
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K& S* Y! s/ Z+ |"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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' n2 D4 K& o! q- q: Y9 H, J! BMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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) @* z+ J- d" UHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. / _7 a9 E& u7 v3 B% E* l
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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. " `( c' `3 Q7 t9 C; M# w9 v2 n0 b
# g5 m+ q% }# xScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ W- L8 R5 V9 D1 a4 Q3 @& F7 F
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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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"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." 2 A& K: V4 a0 \8 w4 Q8 p5 s _) d
6 [( H/ k4 F% _4 A( `The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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1 ]. g: S- I$ Y: B2 IThe 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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! N9 }" r* {* V9 l2 r( k# tTax 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
