 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& O8 }; n& I- {! J0 G
5 R* ]& I" n5 u; {2 V
Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
2 n. g0 A0 K. R. I# w2 _% C4 m6 j1 t1 A+ O5 U0 Y3 R* S7 H
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.
3 v9 p* ?7 V7 G- v7 i+ Y- E- W& ~7 [6 ~: P8 G
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. 1 \, `1 Z9 s/ e
- c* K. P5 L5 f. u# ^"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. T' B7 C, s. B' ?7 T. |2 i u
+ j, `( ]3 X: W2 j/ q, U/ i7 j7 k
City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
: M, \8 D+ G8 w' Y3 `' I. {4 K9 n"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
' x6 `! f/ `- W) i3 V B
6 r6 C7 Z) Y! b3 n5 t9 EA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
5 o: g- t4 P( {/ e$ i( E$ p# n4 u) q- |
"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.
/ [9 ~/ \5 t7 W7 P
* I/ y( i3 K3 w' ^6 l( G( O% xCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : |! h# ?$ z- }7 e
) W) l* M ?% p& _* d, z
The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 _( D) S5 r- w9 u
+ E, p1 @% q) _- f; Y# j
"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.
; L8 {4 U2 f+ S. q0 l; m- z+ c! s A
"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
' n3 a4 {: K! ^& i9 X5 s# C
% }) a+ W/ I. G0 U% LMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 9 \. u b& q) i+ i: Z; W) R* o
T" E& K% }1 yHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 8 O* _. p v3 D
* t/ {% u* e- {1 R7 {"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
$ _8 m, y. A. _6 S: ~5 x- t7 z4 h' t) v8 L' M! c" X% k" G
Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
1 y1 L s0 ~; Y9 H3 ^$ i, J! j0 w' o% S
He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
# X* X" k' x/ ~) T/ X0 y1 q/ P9 q
"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. % I( x0 S1 k8 u6 _
: |1 G! O; E, u) {' y& M
"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."
1 X O3 _& K @; N7 Y8 {
* v' f' C9 B! e k, SThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. / ]' V3 T! K0 a' y4 B
- `4 V; j! i9 z* b$ sThe 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.
5 l/ {) o$ G& S: \
* l# ~' |2 [, fTax bills will be mailed May 25 and payments are due June 30. |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2007-5-9 22:25
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2007-5-10 11:37
