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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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3 O. u1 r: X- q+ E1 ?! NThink 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. # _8 F% u4 d' g! u0 _$ F2 {1 z
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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. " H3 B( U# C" W; S3 C0 y. _ A
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
+ Q5 W/ n# E0 `- ]"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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. d' U# P; ~2 zA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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# o! |: Q- o! h( S: ?6 P" t"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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0 F+ s6 d+ t+ E7 bCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ( I8 A) [( t. ?, o) @, C8 K
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ! P! e: J7 V/ K- `8 i# V- K
" B# ]9 {6 C) o8 w"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. , q! e6 U; B2 s7 W$ \
8 T8 p/ W& ~! ?1 @"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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4 x( y& s0 h9 X' m/ t8 QMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. , Z% F8 z3 q5 P
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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. , |0 u+ N( @* U# @
6 d% }; |( S @4 \, Q3 G1 Y"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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, t. a/ ~( j2 ^He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 6 J% ]& \8 n" W3 |, t- L G4 z
! G' ^" F% I) r# U! h"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 7 g9 m m/ N z+ W
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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." ( r; l0 j3 G4 J0 G* g/ \
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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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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
