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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. , x0 r5 G. R3 p- H4 }/ [
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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. ! C, |4 U/ |! t- e+ j9 l8 c
& f# L5 r, s4 ^- f& z5 o2 wMandel 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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) a) t' `1 S! b"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ! l# q* n+ c2 `8 z* \
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
. s" V6 X6 X M9 F, O% a% W8 _; X"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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; e- e& i# Q5 m# [9 aCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 8 ?& M+ H% m# ^& G, [
. v- u( Z$ g% m* l0 l! Z; X( @- 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. ' @9 K5 r+ T; x! R/ n
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." * _2 w. ~- Q+ z, l. R2 Y- F
0 q9 K; d& z2 y9 J# ZMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ( Y; k0 C; b' V7 M- u# I
/ q' D! A6 H" e4 gHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. * l% E5 d' H" c
9 X4 u" I* E2 P"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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: E4 R X; F' V. W% I) H9 NScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 x& d6 C- R: r- o9 E/ H3 @$ Z; N
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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. ) o+ E: k* h. }8 P; W9 T
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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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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. & I+ I/ _5 k0 o8 E4 O* ^
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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
