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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike- }/ v0 W4 W: ~4 } v
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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# }' r H; w0 A4 H2 a8 Y" x8 cEdmontonians 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.
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6 s+ U8 Y% V0 [( m: w. E' ["Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. " P6 g5 I' o4 b$ }) S; H
9 E0 C; x( ?. JCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- g3 S. g2 K+ ^% w; n# S" U, k# E2 u"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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! k" b% S7 U/ FA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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& Z( E% V- J, e( @3 c"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 4 X1 P! l9 Y) a. H" l" R: V! \; {
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 7 `; N, L8 _ P4 k# ]/ r
; p3 ^ [& X+ O6 {"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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! e1 j% |$ f: uMaurer 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. # w& c% k9 ]7 X% \: q* w
: w. Y9 P B% F. k& X8 k4 Z"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 b. o# [3 L; {
' Y" T6 s: F8 P7 c7 YScott 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. 8 B% W2 [! |2 L3 `" S1 U4 t
; u+ Q; I4 Z2 [, n1 l1 p( O% i"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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8 u8 D+ s, g p% a+ q4 l" ^"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.
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$ A3 M8 U* F- u, C: B. A2 J- GTax 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
