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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike B! f$ \6 D7 U; N; b: E
M1 R) m" p1 V! C5 J$ f; fThink 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.
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* L' s9 F# e$ i# U) UMandel 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.
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. K# j3 x0 H5 @% h; v1 {. SCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates& ^& a1 i2 F1 H" {7 i/ P% K# g l. H: Y
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 5 D0 P6 b" t) j0 L* U* g. k
! ~, g1 o% z% Z& V' V5 |% ^A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 4 ]9 v/ w. P# n9 a5 u
& V/ {2 ?1 |$ A6 _0 e# p5 }"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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1 V( D, M; n j+ M+ t p4 h YCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. |) X3 A1 c+ o* t H+ B# e
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The draft budget does not come out until November. " [4 e6 V( b/ {5 S |: x* }
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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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) I0 H' ?! ]6 b9 g"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." & g/ r8 ?5 P9 D5 f3 [# p
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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.
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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.
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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5 E8 ]# ?! G/ u0 n- }+ SHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 7 h$ R* B7 [# A3 J! d+ U
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 3 Z+ C, g" |; Q2 Y
$ y# `; H3 q4 Q) o/ _" e"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." 3 l3 _6 a+ `" N$ ]
- t* g% y$ e0 Z' s% UThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ! f0 m" u- A- x0 W9 f& i
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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. , w: W9 F. b) \5 U" Y8 h% T" q, ^4 ]
6 E$ P. A- G0 M. K/ C- \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
