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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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4 s$ J) O. L" RThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ! X0 ~% r5 p7 M& L1 ?3 c
# l2 h, |, @, i9 dEdmontonians 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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* _' a+ |1 n; e7 h0 `8 S& ]3 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. + o$ v: x& ]+ m
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 5 d+ g( z& z0 c I
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% M4 S: }! A+ B
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 8 u; ~6 b5 X2 {
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ' p) h4 j$ @. j2 Z( f
& P& x B* o% v2 \/ K"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. 1 r0 y( K' `& d) Y
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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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1 W% B* N8 k+ y; g: J( r7 S+ A"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. 1 Y: j7 b! O8 B' d
8 Z& J8 }2 E6 b' r. }% X+ k6 ?"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.
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, P. M6 K9 w' ?5 sHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. / o! |% _" M& {; C5 Z% l) Z4 H7 S
, n; P4 K4 q5 A/ m, `$ J7 g"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. $ z; T4 Z5 @5 j- ^8 \. N& x
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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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. " W# ^ [7 O3 \' ^$ L
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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." - m, c' [& J9 \' r5 x
% p+ O- O" m, d# ?The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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
