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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. $ L' [/ R( M+ r4 w
1 z# g0 o7 Y. s0 k! BEdmontonians 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 ]8 S6 f/ I- j6 z' B. O
& x4 ?4 a4 I$ MMandel 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. 4 K' U3 h9 g0 u I
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. % }+ F* @ i( _1 |
1 f: }! Q F, O* @City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- k: V, m" A* J- J; Z; C4 p& }"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. + k' D) l7 y- r# @
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. % E0 K3 r1 m8 v, q5 a( s
& L" f7 E! e% B6 k5 k) {9 Q1 m6 q5 G"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' w; N6 Y( U3 y7 k3 P; e7 Q
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. & |8 |' h, {* t" T* S& Q
) d: D1 M. ]+ C4 @The draft budget does not come out until November. ) T# {: A* X- h
; |0 u1 q, c; d+ `; v"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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a* y5 ]; q. d: c"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." & s) Z" Q; w$ T0 ~
/ u6 N6 I* `5 J" m" L; cMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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! ^8 s$ O9 T' ?) D Q0 d/ d7 \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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% Z9 P7 x* o% P" ?; z"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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# w U/ K( \+ ]+ |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. _ x5 l9 E) U% q& m! i# e* E4 e3 \
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. , @- S4 u3 @& r
2 g$ W7 g$ s) X- [& b"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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, [# K+ b: d" |The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. # e# I4 g" \+ u( z* x6 C/ Q; z
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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. 2 N, Z4 c8 J+ o S& ?# d
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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
