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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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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. / Y. W! T+ q2 n5 W, [
' d% o3 D0 Z$ Y7 o0 ~, OMandel 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.
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* v6 c% ]' M: p$ L1 l6 Y6 [. gCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
2 t5 g$ |% z, r) V) ~; H; z, L"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 u# m1 _+ D0 c: a" h" t
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ' G- i" C# r- @6 m* ?! Q
1 s5 _) x! i1 G/ A/ w4 Y. D; f"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ; f# u" B* y4 K5 _: Y" ^6 P+ O
! I% r+ `; o: F7 D"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ; u+ b; a- P( s' h
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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% R7 v" F7 j9 |" E% Z8 A; j& U t @However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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; n% }( p" a& w: J' R"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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/ U' c2 a ?) U- q( Z* C/ LScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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" `% @6 V1 c }& `. B. S7 b"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 ?8 W5 Y4 c; J) k) A/ u
' D$ D3 ~& g& D: v+ ~, V7 H5 j"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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7 \& J" q( E, R- _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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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
