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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.
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+ V8 t+ }+ @5 |0 t7 ]4 YEdmontonians 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. 2 N P, P% E# f* o2 B) f: ?
5 h% J- {3 v 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. ! H; F) p* C/ g
& v7 M% _" X1 H. N5 Y"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! C& e* I5 _3 \6 @) C8 l
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ) U6 T: k+ L4 a! ^8 u# ^1 w
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. t7 v4 ?# H6 i9 e3 B* u% _
+ Y% [; }& p. M/ \"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. + d8 I& C; Y6 P
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 5 T1 s5 z2 X+ h/ U. F+ C
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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: r& [, G2 x9 A Z0 A' \: d' W) j7 t2 F"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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) H8 A- s& y, `" |) u3 SHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 3 F* p. |$ c: H3 G4 m
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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. + k$ Z* E. Y4 T2 g
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ r/ h) R$ P! ~; z8 z1 R
" J( i0 \0 i 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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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. o2 k# J N0 b$ E) Q"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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% D; C/ y& t! F; |" W% z$ G1 cThe 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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0 Y6 P# ?2 w* s( OTax 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
