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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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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. + j1 z6 `/ w, {0 ?) J' c6 d3 t
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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. 2 O1 y) C! f3 v3 O1 b
2 _9 C: ]/ ?: B. ^. s1 U8 U6 b4 J"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. / A/ N9 G H3 a. O" w8 u: g
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates, o k' Z T4 l
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 c6 l4 h( @# O; M$ B* k
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 u( I* E! w# n1 s* ?2 u/ D
' ?7 Y: J J7 `" `"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. , |' }/ K- t+ D u) i
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 4 w/ W. L8 {6 g6 s. `
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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, ` A3 A1 ?* D) M! V"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. & r& f6 A x' D% J1 ]6 ^
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ! C. d9 X; L, y; w+ r2 ^
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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$ I; m$ B! F9 c, FHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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+ l( T' L6 t- I6 U5 A"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 5 L4 ]% v( W, J: w" O% h
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Scott 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.
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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; k8 f8 }5 F% f( l5 h"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." ) _" q8 p1 ~/ y
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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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6 X3 {8 ^( \5 hThe 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. ( B! H- |0 C( ]7 |) \, j% {
( I& n9 u+ H. v; A" LTax 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
