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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. 4 O' T! G1 `, R* m
6 c" E K5 D3 t$ @4 U- ~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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: ~/ v: N( R$ i) K u1 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. 0 _% X9 T/ ~( d: Z( _
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
8 X6 i b8 E. `"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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2 l3 \( C% i3 _, P8 e+ o+ YA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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* b0 @8 _2 P: z/ r9 H8 g# v"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' c2 v8 y8 y6 O6 n% U! U* h
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 5 I3 z1 M5 ?& U8 u7 C! G$ u/ r) E* S; X% u
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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. 6 N" I+ A# M/ K' L2 [0 S5 g) L
/ k$ \" f2 |3 U5 i/ Z ]! e"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 1 \1 a9 b4 S+ `( A$ q$ j- {0 _# t
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. # j& J$ t, W' I
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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. 4 e' X L, [8 |
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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. 5 B! w) W) i! y/ _4 A1 s& q! R
( ~( L1 |1 y9 C- xScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. # S2 P9 H; @- g: l( W$ F' f0 V
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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. ; t: \( P' X( M- d
2 p4 J' p( }" V6 S( v: O2 c6 v"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; n* q& O7 Y( m; |: i/ l
, A1 H* \' @) b9 ^7 t, _; f4 s"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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2 b8 P/ V4 x* KThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * U5 T, H3 n( l6 _
- g0 T9 u5 s3 Z$ rThe 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. # C9 y" \7 D, i$ h
1 S8 w" [, w: uTax 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
