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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike' [6 Q8 _) Z! @7 T# v* G
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. 5 f1 r) v" b# J2 S% J
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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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+ C: J: @, B/ M: P, v+ u"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. G3 B/ k. A9 N) r, D7 W, |
& [! {( G/ w$ M; x9 ^9 a* E; BCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates K! @) L' {( B+ v# ^
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. : a& E' C. I) A$ e1 @0 x' S! I
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ( ?+ O- C& V7 `4 ?) P) t
- o y/ y+ n$ }; F/ @"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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5 }; p( {+ q# w0 ?7 a) A# o4 r9 fCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. + W$ t) J6 w6 p9 S5 q! o
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 2 u" y/ \0 K% B3 p `
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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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2 [1 j g, X+ l9 O# e9 ^* N"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer 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. , r/ j4 u* e& d' u |" f
9 M: j8 t* b. J0 J"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. & v' F6 t2 y$ p z, o, w
) M0 `5 W0 B, s5 m. w, XHe 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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. _* F" s& K7 v8 Q, y"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." / T$ X& c8 {1 o' [
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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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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.
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7 U' U: w8 z) I2 X# 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
