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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike. ^/ ^8 ^5 L3 U; i# e4 _
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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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: W. I/ \$ ]" `5 Q4 |& T8 G; l9 KMandel 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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* K* G4 _) h/ \) | \/ V$ t8 w"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ' q$ ^* ?& U" d) F
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates! n+ N: l. x# ~9 h2 _. A$ W( f
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ! q# x9 d2 z( M6 _( Q+ ^* [9 v
: {, q' v" V& g6 [( a9 O0 W& VA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ; O1 C- v" w* S1 [
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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! j. Y1 ?8 y* m+ \. yCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ) I2 ?( C2 L8 B& ^' {* J
4 \3 r% e; [$ r) e9 E- i"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. 1 A/ w# l: v7 e2 c: ^& P: |
# g3 F8 Y# ]( m7 r# n# f2 f- k, e"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ( E5 J4 n: ?( Q* Q; z$ J
8 a+ _5 z* y. HMaurer 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. 6 p8 t1 H W6 i% O3 [( ]
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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. * f" M) n! \; f
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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. + M4 ]9 E* u: ^
6 P' l0 X$ D$ F. V0 Y"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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." 1 K/ R* P& b) a
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 6 n6 t' N" G6 \% ?% @% r
! R4 f; O/ s! b9 w9 d" ZThe 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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. a' |0 M0 g. E+ T1 ~" kTax 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
