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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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?# \) ~+ R5 E$ S6 L+ }2 Q% mEdmontonians 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. " e i I6 {, @
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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. % G8 V: y! H" x9 w1 |
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. - b7 C$ X$ D8 D) y* P7 k8 O
& J+ l. E9 z. Q6 Z2 t6 w" ~City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
( }. M+ l. @1 [2 G* n* x6 U"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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$ {$ Y) [& v- I. ^5 [9 dA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : e1 C7 q9 K. t; Z4 V
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ' `; X9 D g3 I- h
- U" ?! g- c3 L- E; k9 ~8 Z6 S/ H"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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9 l+ m. N" A/ L/ b7 s8 kMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ; @# ?- }9 n1 }& N( |
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 6 W' v$ E% [ \; s/ Q
5 b) b# |5 A f j; B9 q"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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' I# o- P6 r* G- |# I8 N3 gScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 T) ~6 Z+ e" p, H0 C$ ~8 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.
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4 s: K' Z! l) c G: J- F \$ i) j6 P"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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/ f3 M6 K" A n"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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7 d' H/ g8 u) I. f& a+ f& b' P- _3 u& sThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 s! `# W' s( E
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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
