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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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4 @$ Q+ @1 C/ ^9 zThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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8 g E1 D! ]$ m5 pEdmontonians 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. : Z/ ]( y/ F1 t
* w0 c# D; M2 p8 c5 q1 {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. 2 ]. h) w- K- z. a9 |; z
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 2 e, m% G( i# e* I: e
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
/ B7 Z. w! H, N% s8 u+ a0 s/ f"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. + Z0 \7 Y# t6 [9 h: ~+ d! q5 s$ m
5 n8 p6 |& e8 C3 H* U3 I2 aA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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7 h' z, w$ h) y P"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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6 l6 }' x$ y5 t8 D4 {7 GCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. . T8 D; V& Q+ p% L" i! g
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 2 |4 s* E# {) T3 R
$ w: t7 O- z/ G, 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.
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. }1 P0 A0 s+ y v4 X l- } b2 A& y"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 c: g" `8 _7 }( D3 u: s3 j
, r% Y5 O: ~* h1 tMaurer 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. 7 q' V3 {4 A! J" q# a
* X- w4 l- }: a0 J7 [1 m"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 T3 d/ k J' B3 P+ H ]
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 1 ^/ p- r! F' j9 Q1 u
4 X/ |9 N# t: WHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. + y5 Z# }$ x; Z3 W i
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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& G1 ^1 u2 Q' \: `8 c) Y4 U"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." & C: {+ ~! o$ r# H- a8 p% o
* B9 w! [% O9 B$ f VThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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) z+ A2 y* ?# O" x6 hThe 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. $ ?$ w; ?) q; ~
2 ?8 [% r5 m5 d- }" H3 TTax 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
