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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike, _1 r: E; J% e
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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( b& j, Y/ [' L5 J! UEdmontonians 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. + v: G8 c6 A1 X1 g" h+ g9 [
$ P! s* T8 e2 K- |) C, A/ XMandel 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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- {, i; r1 P+ B d: G ]- Q"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 estimates/ z: l& Z, K" `( |
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. * U% F( ~3 C& [4 }
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 2 J6 b4 J" k/ W, q
3 j( u, |# N. [Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ' _8 p. M: y( `( N" R
+ B4 w9 ]0 l5 ^. t) t$ KThe draft budget does not come out until November. " B5 \( o; m; ~ \/ P( j5 C
) h% g% e5 l/ D6 U) s"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. ) c. s: h5 B5 A5 t0 o k' A' d+ Y
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ; w" \. e! y- e3 S3 g5 i
+ k* G% B% P2 w7 u/ Z& I; bMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. # q6 F) z* ^( Q: F+ j3 ~4 t
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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. : e5 j7 a. @6 Z% i& h' U# ]
' H7 e% w" w% v"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 p8 Y0 M+ Y ~/ L0 q0 V
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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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1 D7 w1 k/ y3 \; [He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. " [* R& {. U2 z, d% a/ n* U+ P: d
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 3 c* e6 L* n9 a
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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." # |0 H6 G% M' ^
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 0 n) k$ o" q# b
4 M w% S% I' K9 |' |$ g1 n, UThe 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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/ {+ V( ?7 c, p: x% oTax 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
