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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike8 J: ^0 `1 i- ^9 X
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. # X6 m7 f) L2 g
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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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" `; Y" T4 {. n7 R9 P0 a% QMandel 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. 8 f& \8 L* d" Y1 U7 m3 H( {$ u2 A* d
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. % }; Y9 E: D7 W6 v2 d Y
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( y& W/ V; q8 ^9 B8 I$ q6 B# [9 C
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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( f8 q- b# @ i3 G2 Z2 iA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 3 l' n. b. Q. j ~' I. g5 O
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ; @ {- b6 _# u& d
: g; v- ^; Y" v# Z8 XCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ' _& W9 F/ ]4 k2 B1 _+ X" k
* b& `- {% k3 q) ?"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. " W# z4 Z% w' B6 `
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 5 }/ [1 q- s: K) U$ }7 V$ E
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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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1 J# d3 ?3 D2 r7 W* w; c"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. N) H. `: A$ ^; h! p
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Scott 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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. - B y, R l! M J/ c' U
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"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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$ y& ~( B9 D: l9 SThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. + u- b% ^3 }! ^9 t7 _$ E& K
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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. , h: c9 T! \; z2 p" [
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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
