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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike* I7 R5 i# i6 G4 j* {# B' ?
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 1 V5 p6 u. ]" W
5 z( ^) F5 A3 z: {4 X4 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.
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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. ; e+ [' Y) w) E9 O6 b
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates D0 z5 r, Q0 o4 a8 y: a! R
"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. ( m9 y* ?& H( h' K% }* g& q9 H
& m2 Y( N9 u: @"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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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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4 X3 C5 i- w4 k4 ~. E"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. 8 U3 V; T7 H @( V4 _
% L: L) Y2 u% d% U"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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* L4 {3 \- n. s( t, hMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 0 s& z6 d2 E5 V) y" X8 D1 Z
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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.
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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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# N6 `% E7 L: \2 p- GScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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1 d1 d2 U/ n h3 |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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. r, a1 q: n" y, v3 [
% _9 W' M2 @ Z"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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* `. \0 {0 c0 U, h# SThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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* o+ U% c! O* {5 O- ^; n3 y% @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. . h" x' d3 ~2 A4 j* B5 ?# E: H( h: _
% x' l2 O# N9 C$ S4 YTax 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
