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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike$ f/ T: s8 _* |6 ~
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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. 9 F. K' h) K9 }; u9 l) l8 k
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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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8 ^1 d! n. @7 F. S$ z/ f3 @"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates" H: l! F$ F3 y8 B3 d3 H2 Q% ?
"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 $200 a year. 6 V: Q% E0 u# c+ I
1 s' V: b0 p- ~! Q4 L8 _ u"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. % q) N- y3 b# d5 C) N
' N7 ?3 K! {& FCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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! j+ [. ]% r2 p$ h6 |The draft budget does not come out until November. ' s2 O: l( `; n# F9 V
3 _( d0 s7 ^% u, B: e6 @- 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.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. % Y( ` ^) w7 c" z: l
$ l0 f( L% \0 Z" i% T' O: k0 C w& KHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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! ?: T- ?8 \* A/ _7 j8 x"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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8 d. f z) i, H3 H! X+ V" s6 i' q( z$ rHe 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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; G, A0 g: O* G' Q& t6 S) k"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 9 V4 Y1 n# _' x8 G/ c& X
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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."
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) i- V4 E& d# Y7 d8 BThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 6 @: u* E) {# U+ f6 F
* Q' @5 @, C+ v7 i8 \* a6 N8 b( DThe 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
