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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike. B5 y$ }& o4 W- W" Q7 t: \
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 0 L$ R. f8 K2 K3 P& u' J
. T1 S/ l; _) I4 ]! L& lEdmontonians 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. - @4 Z' E* k8 c S1 T) b% ~
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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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8 R& c/ s. J K; w"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 2 t4 W' @5 W5 b, ?6 S. P
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
* P3 a- ]3 _+ N& \"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 $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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; D) M: z" B, a9 E c; f3 OCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 4 G9 ~9 h0 Y0 Y" d
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. " M& s0 L' l! _
* e& s( P, w: O# c5 y8 O"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + s6 H% A. K% k# `
W3 L' J- P& \' B$ e- PMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ' g: ?% o/ t; n' m# `
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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. p! m% s1 e! S! n9 f
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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. ( m0 D! m& G. @. o
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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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& |- u/ B2 u, v: EHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. % V) I" h- }( Y8 R
/ k/ f; P7 K' l0 p3 R/ ? _$ V: E"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 Q+ q) B3 K2 Z4 I8 S+ ?
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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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 6 H- J& c/ L, Y% E
3 W2 ]& c- j; |; {# Z+ X- lThe 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. ! M% R$ C: F; c% o5 o2 L
* ^# n$ [- Y0 {2 a3 ?& C% vTax 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
