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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike/ ~+ N7 X. o) C7 B
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. + o `, D: }5 B e- B9 f
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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. L1 P# U: a; Q
+ v8 \6 F) P% M: F" lMandel 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. % J5 I, N J( _* {$ ^! S4 `
) F5 O+ x8 w- w"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 8 q! J0 N/ z9 ?# z0 f
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates4 x4 U) ^, f3 p! v4 e" z
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ! X5 u4 N6 \. ~; O3 V& T0 w/ ~
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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& p6 ?1 i6 K( ^8 F2 C& ^- f1 o0 @+ d/ |"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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- a% p, ]+ z1 z3 H& D3 XThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 6 f5 v9 ?5 T0 |
0 \1 V! _( O: ]" x/ P+ F"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 7 w# }1 s" {! c8 s6 B2 A% `; p. v
) I0 {: |- I6 w7 [/ @$ T+ r) zMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. / M7 i+ A% H+ c) D+ u2 z7 | K
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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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0 {3 A" S( x. S- ~- ]4 S"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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. c4 L0 Y. w2 s1 {0 ?5 \9 RScott 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. 4 v7 H- { n, X$ l
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. / i1 C, t' L) F
* |" x1 \! X+ r! X6 {"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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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. 7 K4 a9 }; d' [/ G' G# l
7 ~: [& c0 t2 J6 t0 h$ s' A sTax 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
