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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike8 Q$ ]' s2 W! c
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 3 Q# k, Y% C5 Y0 A( Y
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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. - F: u! Y0 g/ W5 Z* M* a
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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. 8 U; {$ z' j- r8 C& n) r
" E" Y( S" E yCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
3 {& E% @2 ~+ c; y4 k/ i: ^2 D"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. $ O. k- t; }2 E* E
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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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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8 l+ d m8 G9 J5 QCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 0 K( c7 N* y9 W/ B' u* H
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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5 i! v& S: s8 w- X6 n/ q6 b& `"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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." # \5 ]) x9 z* w. k
$ j( L4 f: B, d/ l5 E! |7 rMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. + c7 U' u" O7 v* |* C( @+ q
; f2 i# W8 ] {6 Q @+ f& a9 pHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 0 d8 o: a9 q: @, y0 D8 i7 Q, }) ^
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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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8 C; U& k8 ?9 y* s' W6 k6 [Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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He 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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ( @& M, Z( d2 h2 C+ F3 d
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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."
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6 D5 J3 h( a$ x! N+ oThe 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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+ N2 b6 {2 n* J/ I( ]: FTax 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
