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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. & ?4 {: r2 g5 {; \
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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 X9 e- e# N5 {
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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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. * j* R, [6 z/ {4 w
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
% J% w; {1 n5 O"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / W3 j6 H2 a* W3 f3 ?; ?/ `- r
1 |! P- w- H4 |8 b# |' f2 AA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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* A6 K$ k' j+ B" \2 H4 m) d, WCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. + `1 h0 V% o0 `, j3 R
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 n1 [3 F7 f& T, H
) F. }: t$ j( L"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. ! b% ]" E0 @6 _5 n+ A) J$ b: g- T
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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8 j- W" y1 \ i! L7 y& k3 mMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 9 s& Z9 Z$ q- E4 _5 b
% d0 [/ G; c& g' p( A$ B' PHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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. f1 R5 `& {9 t2 r3 N# \3 u"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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9 r7 [7 F7 N7 I; v- g6 J7 bScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 C: r a; ^0 j* W" u S
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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. , ?$ q s6 S1 x0 O! L, b
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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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3 l$ {2 s. |: ]; u6 Z1 k"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." : |2 U' _% \+ G2 t% ], ^- N
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 8 ]/ t% j7 L) J8 v* i
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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
