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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike* ]6 _# \! ~2 s. K
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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7 A1 h u! ?# B% S3 ~ |& O5 J' XEdmontonians 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. 5 E1 c$ n% L, C1 B) X) C# M
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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. 2 h: i" u2 K5 ]7 `
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% {- w. K4 Q$ H. N2 r$ r/ V# d
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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1 q. f& C; }9 g! ^! U. RA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. $ E ]: {: v2 n, L
& i8 z8 M/ L. I: F* 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. 9 H$ f5 N/ `: E1 S4 J' V" R) [
5 Y: f5 d# `( b# Q& O1 q7 kCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. $ E' N% I4 A- t
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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7 U) b) h( s H1 J/ a"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." # C" p! J: O) H1 J5 q
5 N) g8 }6 y; \& U' ]Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. / S0 E5 Z: {4 R7 v9 P, t. V
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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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$ M2 ]6 H' L2 O: u. lScott 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. / P) h7 @8 F1 `/ m
2 q% Q$ V; C: p/ n"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ( R- d$ P6 s% ^4 [& \6 g( A
/ K9 G% ?1 M2 L% r* U# f V S: 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." 6 r) Z8 w4 J* |# p# l
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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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( G5 w0 W' j2 a* e3 e9 T! `- E' ZTax 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
