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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike% J ~9 F w, ~1 Q* @8 j
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 5 e0 Y. T+ b) y* ^2 i
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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. * |: `) O& C2 {0 V, h1 f
, `0 `4 y/ l& ^0 p0 W. wMandel 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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7 i+ r0 v+ R, U' x, i, Z, t, n"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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9 l6 C* V; t0 J# R. d; |( rCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates& L7 R* h* u! b: T: Q9 X0 I
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ; ]' t' |* R' l) h3 B B$ }/ I
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. : ?1 ~) {+ ~5 C8 L
: ^; s- z5 g8 C! s& o"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. + Z2 m0 c7 g, Q5 J4 f3 i
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 7 S; o5 | i u3 V7 _8 L7 P& n+ @4 W
2 M# s* V# n) ^"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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5 s( D) H* S9 q) k7 w$ {- Z3 y"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ; C! i0 K+ e0 n! O1 f9 N- f# X
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. $ z( ^4 {/ u' S K/ {$ _
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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. ) ^6 @8 h+ K1 f. U. f# \
/ g. M* ?5 W! a3 E& U" nScott 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. - E# T2 y- t7 \2 Y6 ?& w1 @
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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." 9 i( T, N0 Z/ B, P. y) l: K8 d4 [
" J+ E! R, R% ^: {& Y7 nThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 1 V: {3 S+ f% V6 F% w" E6 R) ]
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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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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
