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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. $ q, Y1 D' ?1 o: P: @& b: z
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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. 1 y6 }5 t/ ]% g& z
: k' i6 S1 h) J) VMandel 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. / T7 B+ p9 Z# d; H1 E9 ~
/ `1 P/ q: m' x7 [' z: K& U& m"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& a! p9 Z8 X1 M7 u$ J
"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 $200 a year.
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3 u9 f$ z1 J" }9 Y, W$ @"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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9 p# j" H- K2 q$ M; r1 ^Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 8 d# }- \4 X3 M! Y
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ' [, l7 f& X0 Z$ }1 {
, ^. H- \8 i7 U"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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! W( Z: P9 i% K7 d4 QMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 5 Z( R ^9 Y5 R$ W1 V% b8 X/ T5 j- o
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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. 0 b% s8 B1 W( o$ s) d$ N( A5 o
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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.
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/ H; I+ P. W: E) R6 U" E3 c"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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d) S, [8 L/ Z# U. o"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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' n: b- e5 d9 D, G) RThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ; q# }" L3 `6 u: K% e/ q
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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. ) x" U6 M% h7 L# G4 ~: q& Y
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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
