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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike: v/ Z! l! W5 x+ e3 L! [& H
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. , B% O2 e$ @# O
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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.
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4 W; T9 M* {# Q1 a% N, ]2 CMandel 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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7 r; v7 D2 h6 J, f6 q% ^"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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% y9 a1 Y) V, v. B. r" ACity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
$ \6 g' X3 D$ g% f"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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/ p$ s3 ]5 d; B8 K6 T# C& SA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & e# y5 L6 o+ u
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 5 Q0 o, [% q9 R4 ^( o( `
6 j7 ]' n3 P6 i, kCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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: J7 ?. W/ [$ w4 Q1 Y$ s0 x"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." ; q* }( x4 W6 l+ b+ P4 N6 x0 O
/ l- ^( @& U. V# @Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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* h, ^; m. E) W% ~* W$ I! IHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ; C5 w0 ?! I- B6 R( X3 f' M0 k' P2 \
0 k( y. ]0 T3 u$ `"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 P( G; b' ]0 O4 h9 F
. f9 E% x. [0 b2 fScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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* e; k% g- ~$ S( U3 dHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. - q) P9 d; X) E- ^ w/ {; K
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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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3 H# K2 K- r. L8 K N"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. 1 i# b7 g1 P! L7 M
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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
