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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& a% {( t( q5 R! l# I5 F
! U% ~8 _# x. d) sThink 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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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. * e1 l; j5 u1 B2 b6 _0 d
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. $ h& e6 D4 k) O9 q, j
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
0 n& D. h8 H3 O W"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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$ P/ w) d; d& H- lA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 2 Y- `* p2 y( L- y! v8 D. y+ s7 T: Y
0 q$ V# Z4 } cCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. $ \9 K7 }. ?% L; t2 j
* P! \0 U/ d9 Q' @ Q8 P1 j; uThe draft budget does not come out until November. - }: X$ w& Z) y) T5 Q1 @
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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. ) M1 i% z/ Y# x/ W' o
$ A6 `8 U% U+ e) o# A4 D"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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}# h d/ b2 {( |8 f) cMaurer 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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. * M" ]2 r2 ?* F, q
6 |# s. D, v, E7 \8 uScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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4 k& |4 C4 Y1 g( `* }" sHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. - O i9 h% Q9 h6 g5 Z% d
$ J3 U: d/ K w. R! i( [' ]* i- ^% p"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." * a1 s% ^4 T" C! h( U: E
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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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2 `0 v2 _7 ~% V( M1 @+ fThe 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. , M7 D5 `+ g0 n% W# _8 R
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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
