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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike, }8 W. W% y# P+ s" D D
( r$ U+ ~& y& I# A' n( z- @! F+ lThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. : v( h/ S2 t: W! Y
- z' C" r) t8 l( v. C, b" aEdmontonians 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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$ h& i+ B7 o s- 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. # ?$ b# k8 V8 E; w" }
9 ?- _0 @1 e2 ?& ?! B8 n# TCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
0 E! c+ U. p0 t" w"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. , |# b! ~* M* D" n- U
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. - G, `, k) c0 W( c9 u
2 J' a0 n: H7 d6 G, _0 YCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ' F8 M/ y/ g4 d$ p( W, K
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 0 S& }% K/ H- Y" T/ p& X& w
# I: T) v# U: C: g1 Y+ }' t% H"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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5 c# }5 a* K& t; u& B"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." * \( q/ I# w4 w& f
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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G0 _* ^, S5 _0 ]* y" l: MHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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. z0 A, X- ~1 V; |7 A"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. - G6 s( Z8 s( U6 L Y- i
2 \* T Y' g6 u! OScott 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.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ' }7 C, o7 H4 E4 Z
. [8 F/ P' v- j! V5 m"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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 3 }# z9 C7 m; d# y9 T [9 B( h
9 L5 b+ Q4 g* d3 }. K' ?/ n! pThe 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. z7 h7 u' ?) }& j
$ p; E9 J. S- p( t2 P8 p" p6 dTax 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
