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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. : \. [ t4 f% G X: U0 o, U- E
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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.
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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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. : Y$ h# w0 U; [ I! ]" I) ?6 Y& B
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
U' n; j0 |. C/ ]! d0 p8 ^"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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9 s3 ^. v. {/ JA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & j& o# L- B' d% d
7 o: Q9 A4 m2 [) T/ z"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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: v; M8 j7 _6 cCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : ~$ O" C1 @1 Q+ v
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 V& z! \6 |7 J5 V- j
' @. D6 H ] p9 W8 }) j$ ^"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. 9 ^9 I. F' s5 { D! a* h) U. [
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + Y: I; F- p% \ G
2 A5 v8 i# G E, S# e1 LMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 1 b2 b6 `9 Q& |/ `1 o! X
0 ]; N* r5 \* m- h8 }! cHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ' ?; e% j* r& Q6 w( J
, u3 l5 N; Y0 Q4 V# b"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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% E/ |1 A8 X/ ZScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ t; l/ _* x% S/ N, O/ \
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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. , }$ |8 P, L1 I9 s* Q
% y4 L! U% u) S# ]( k"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 3 P" k( `6 x+ ~; _
+ l @$ A: v0 N/ D6 s, e; J"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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2 z& R& a" p: MThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. . F, o+ ^, I+ V0 R$ f1 G, F
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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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' l: R1 C" M- X* |/ g0 OTax 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
