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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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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. 8 i; e& ?3 q; z& S2 S6 k
9 ]! _" K8 d* z2 nMandel 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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2 y8 t! z' y7 ^9 h7 `# s5 x8 l"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ! F, C+ T$ ~) B% t; ~9 {
$ V' ~ X9 Q" NCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
% o- r: n) ]: [- S" `, }( l0 |& `"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ' _! D: D$ T8 v2 c9 T
; y, ?4 d4 X5 V, g0 }1 x7 r' u. HA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. , Z' F5 N! b: [5 K/ t
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. " @% G( ?3 S& w$ k4 S: f: v J9 L
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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. 7 K$ {0 G" F: j( p/ \
6 t" d- Q6 Y! d: K! _+ \4 Q"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. . A2 _" j% M+ i8 L$ k
; A$ r c3 q8 Z. a/ B) e"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." / z# z1 d4 z8 N
) `0 S9 c6 s# A6 @5 [Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. * v+ g2 q+ j+ q% w" R+ J/ n0 v
) b+ F9 J3 O, S: _" _* U& ~However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. / t7 t1 c* i# ?4 y+ a, F, N4 Q
\3 r+ e+ V9 i* L"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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+ C8 R6 {6 ^1 {, V: O% E2 EHe 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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! ^7 M4 d. M2 L" w9 b9 C"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." , {! p. _ E; d/ v) A
; V ]& }3 O# l1 _5 S( R7 uThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. - V- b, w- A& ~! f% k0 S5 \! Y* C' {
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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
