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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. 2 M; n8 i" b5 ~, a' {5 D
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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.
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& |* s% w, ]$ v9 _$ }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.
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* o2 [* a" h/ K. @" F+ ?* \1 u7 KCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates: C% n: U5 w k: S& W1 C ^
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. & O3 D7 ~) w# V# h* R: ^5 @
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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/ _3 u( K/ G7 B9 l C' }The draft budget does not come out until November.
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7 R2 V3 t6 ?& E1 F"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 7 r/ w+ ]( v5 w0 E! i- G
/ j4 V) Z+ a" ]# D& A1 V"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 u0 f6 g; x; t3 M7 v3 }4 U
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. . Q L3 J: x3 c# l7 U ~, a- s
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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4 E; a) ?% ~' Y; DScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 `% Y- \: g, F( U
- C5 z" J* Y1 E6 T. dHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 0 w, ?( s$ K5 t# x* _' `* U
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; M6 |5 J- K7 k( x
# \' ~1 M) C6 I- H: G; {% 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."
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4 ^1 _' S$ o: ?The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 0 @+ u% \! E! V* q; N K" d
8 S( Q( {1 b( X5 kThe 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 Z" i8 V3 G' m7 }+ Y: X; N ^
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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
