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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. ( v. h+ `: P: h$ S7 i1 ^0 ?
% W. P) @. [8 G/ ?# w: i& BEdmontonians 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. 5 A7 D& W! z: I3 p: }+ ]3 T- R
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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. ' N( p: v" ?) [
6 F3 c( }7 @/ e+ a* J, \1 C8 V"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 7 {( t' i% i0 m
. S6 u; F6 ?1 P' XCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates. @: L5 ~7 h0 R0 S( p* E# r
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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# `" ~7 W1 |! {A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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; p) @7 d' i' O' P"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. P3 F/ p( T k0 e( c. M# N
, m# i" s9 Y+ ~0 @+ K0 z; v4 ZThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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- M2 a/ u- s: D# i$ Q) E6 m"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. 0 A, j) t4 q* n
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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/ P& n2 b9 J1 t) M' a2 kMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ' D) g" Q0 x' }7 y' S4 T
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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.
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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. 7 t$ ~8 J& p7 f4 l2 ~( f6 l! C4 v
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 {- U; c' Q+ I8 ]9 S( \
8 u! {; V- I" |1 n: _) UHe 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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( v& L' J0 @5 R5 I$ d"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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+ ]" ^9 }9 S$ o0 p1 p# ^8 ?8 h"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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. b3 Z$ [1 s6 H7 LThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 2 C9 p6 A$ K- r
% i8 E9 E2 H" f0 GThe 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 t& B+ T$ N$ a9 M7 @; q% x# q
7 R4 L4 U* G3 M/ F5 Y7 j# 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
