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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. + I9 |5 B* c5 y8 }% b/ ^
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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. # V' a4 W- v4 N' Z9 Y, k
8 u* y* m7 I. pMandel 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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P, J1 I7 C! \+ V"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' ~, T9 R b# a. w) Q% x; _1 W3 ^
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 3 K, {7 |% R2 `! _5 t0 M
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. " K/ a* b/ S X" p4 D" {4 c3 G
1 }9 h9 |3 d! r"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 6 N* [) C2 w& W2 y
# E4 b6 a1 @6 P+ AScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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* j: } g2 U" _, c2 N; |* V"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 V$ T. b8 m2 A! w4 W+ M
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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." ' Y5 ~8 \, z& n2 n8 W
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 9 [( M) ?0 g9 \& |/ K P4 D0 {
7 n4 `9 Q1 R. l/ U" y* kThe 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. c0 J* _. ^9 \1 Q6 Y
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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
