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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.
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8 U) @0 w) c$ n; |; HEdmontonians 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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& ^2 Y8 }( C+ I1 s* c* j9 UMandel 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. / h3 X2 K3 y- f, y3 P$ N0 S
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 0 o9 x6 Z4 f+ k U
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
8 [- J+ p# X" n* U0 j"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 $200 a year. % X1 w: `0 n$ ? p7 O4 B j6 U
! B% R. J+ a3 b& k. l"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. . w# {& m1 ~3 e( t
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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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" l5 | e2 V l( O$ T( B"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 W6 g& @7 x$ B+ y7 ?- o"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 4 ]7 c; O. [ C t2 ?% p5 F
8 Z) L, m9 E+ O$ r4 KMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. / M/ t c9 N+ |8 \+ D, 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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/ |* h3 c( o$ m" p/ ~& r1 Y"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. " i& {: s6 d5 S4 u0 O
+ D/ [' {) C$ d5 PScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. * F" C# Y8 m, L. S. d
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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. % A0 j- \$ \2 A9 e
' j+ R: ^; A- o$ z d& d"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 6 G, J& O! D: W2 H5 {. w, G
" m# M0 E- o# T" U7 v4 D; s& d$ p"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." 5 B, ^! K7 T- C' b8 R9 _- O9 p
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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. 9 t$ U/ H5 f+ @8 _; B" n
! |& `* d5 C9 N7 TTax 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
