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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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- ~ b% b5 J) NEdmontonians 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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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. 7 D7 ?( f' b7 a' j/ ?: [% F: E
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
& m G7 x5 p* c, U"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. , X; Y" m2 ^; V
+ {# C3 x) v4 sCoun. 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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3 v6 W6 T3 g: M, S7 K- V" MThe draft budget does not come out until November. 1 x" j4 h* F7 Q# W& s6 b
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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. 2 G0 r) h8 I/ e% m) O1 ]: a7 l2 W, O
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." : F& @9 R. u: i z- m. ^
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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. . W) x1 N0 D7 W
+ E3 S2 M# K4 R X6 t' Z! P* r"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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Scott 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. , `3 |7 C7 a8 ~" }
2 v- Y9 k* N! c& ~"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 7 k! y; Y* [! y
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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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4 `3 _3 c0 S2 gThe 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.
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2 g. q7 a3 ~& m/ G: jTax 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
