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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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3 J1 V9 M! ?- ?3 lThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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2 n8 b4 \' L2 W% d7 H5 AEdmontonians 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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: q; s: @1 g2 J4 }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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" x8 w) W. i9 O! Q5 U9 q) m* W) u"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 9 C# \# d- O1 K* x
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% \; c x& `- Y8 l* o7 D. ^
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 4 `- D& r# s2 _
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ) H; T8 W4 [ @3 x. T- K
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' A8 Y$ l; P( }8 R# y9 P; E
( G; h/ ^0 O- ZCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ' W/ Y9 |8 n3 V. {+ e( n2 W" |' L
; ~" o& {! ^# i( b- P; HThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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; r: z$ ?, J% x9 D7 ? i5 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. 2 r# c0 F8 b" H" M2 a% N4 H
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 8 ^8 M0 c7 X# m
0 P. N& R, M$ i. o- HMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. : ?- Y# ^7 B2 J5 S1 _
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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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 5 \. M' P( V4 k0 r6 D; }, h. z- @
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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. . g' d# o8 ?/ d7 m
& ~$ Q3 T6 B0 ?' l3 L" L$ L"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 4 w7 R" w$ U8 e3 o6 g! c
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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." & t* a2 |0 M$ d
1 _* K: H% P6 Q5 L" K& x F( oThe 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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& f( }. H/ i4 }# 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
