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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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! n2 D7 a! H# }! c# M( wEdmontonians 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. ( ]7 R; q* t9 x9 f* n
/ V, r8 H! ]- P% AMandel 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. 1 m2 s( J# q! Z' v, m
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
4 M9 e: f1 D8 r"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / H% D4 j2 I% S
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 5 S& { ^/ s# ~3 ?6 Q$ p
! c+ ~; }9 f, b- ?! } ~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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2 o) M0 N# w+ ^8 `( |' UThe draft budget does not come out until November. : R" Y6 K8 ?$ d' B1 d! e# q
; C4 j/ G. M: V- a& I5 N"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. 0 W7 x5 d* G( e5 b9 m
+ D! ~, ^: U$ H" B! s8 b4 B"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." % Q, l4 _- g* |7 C
+ ], { V& g: P% T* zMaurer 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. - G0 X }7 l3 B" L' x8 O ]
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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. 2 @- E4 I/ E1 k: I7 D3 q3 j |
9 t7 s1 g- z1 @) g! D% N% }9 V& ?Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 9 j7 M% _+ |$ c
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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. ( X! n# i( V* f" t
4 K( l2 U o3 G0 V. \"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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0 |& x; S$ \5 J1 C: k# a0 x"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." $ n+ [( g% W+ m. m, ?+ Y1 U
/ D0 v/ j/ c& B! t' cThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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+ k7 [+ g# |* J# o3 D, @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. : M$ ^8 n$ `" W- A! x
* E6 w( R, i/ K8 fTax 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
