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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.
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' Q! K" [8 Y1 S( h" h3 {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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+ F0 u: J0 C3 P" Y; KMandel 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. - H' u* V, V$ I `; Q# {/ ]
) B/ y, P" v* Z; N& E [City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- ]7 v0 f8 k% `% s, 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 $200 a year. - P; n- z$ \' y* O1 z6 K& g7 [& a
/ d% I8 x$ _' @' a6 Y5 y: h"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. , V! i$ I' Y9 Q4 c o1 b
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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. 4 p$ f- k' K2 p, Z4 K
9 a; Z% Z% \9 ], A9 CThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"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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0 M9 ~, ~9 Z/ P2 F; l+ R"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." & Q r0 S# V5 t" q; [* Y
8 A: Q6 m0 ~% k3 d+ yMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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. 9 c5 p7 y* p8 ^8 i: C$ q( ^" D: A
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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. 5 V: y: F8 i! N* G! i, B# {
) u9 b9 e/ q( R$ e1 K& J1 B, [0 L7 F( hScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 0 g+ G7 H0 B* b+ f2 i5 ~
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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. , Z4 t3 P3 Z) ]2 p! P6 Z
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. - {8 \* ?5 b7 @" A
/ i2 U/ y5 E1 k q7 I2 J+ i6 l"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." 4 ^2 f& `0 _& Z/ o8 i+ t% d$ Q
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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9 f8 B3 C# p* V$ B0 [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 @; G! {; m# U2 ]- W9 \
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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
