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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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. E/ r( U2 b) ~- w& J r' M; SEdmontonians 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. ) A# H. ^( M/ Q$ P* H
" T, [$ Y- _6 z# m; s6 DCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
6 @1 o* c5 Q w4 F$ C- Q"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 g' [8 Y' `" b+ w" _4 p
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. $ Y6 l6 M* k* B
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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.
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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. 0 t0 s* ~, X4 _
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The 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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% a* p) Y# n# @0 ^/ z/ ]4 q# E"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." : e" E9 q6 |' }) ]
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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9 P) L/ j8 p! r7 C% q& q+ L& qHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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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. " h: i0 C$ O5 v0 P0 U( t. K+ y7 O
, `3 d7 y$ l; r* C' `Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ) O4 h+ f- o& v) S1 d% R0 h) X
- ^! B% a# {; r! |/ O* H. l) L3 R; i0 }He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. " P+ W* I9 o. w8 A4 N# Y
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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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"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." % W9 Q- X+ B0 p2 c( ^
}1 B+ \8 H3 m' L6 `5 N% }The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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( h" s* @3 I9 t5 qThe 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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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
