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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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- G0 J# g" H+ g& e! D2 QThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ; K7 ^1 ^, x$ Z
4 A8 ^7 b* I6 _; L( jEdmontonians 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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/ T: ]7 I# r+ E$ s6 z, N, }: mMandel 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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. u0 \8 ]# M; l5 m; b"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 3 ~0 P7 }' S2 r# h
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- V7 o* k3 V. f& H4 g) a; I$ j# t4 v# {"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 9 l! ?+ S) i) M" x. G/ |
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ; T' l3 T& l- x# l3 k& p, ]7 S1 o, y
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. - b/ z, M# a+ c$ @0 _
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The draft budget does not come out until November. / O# m4 z9 o# f' l
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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. * g' w2 j: g& f$ F0 e, y7 h. F
2 `7 w+ `, t( e1 x, d"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 3 H* V( U4 t3 j
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ) R& K6 e5 y" e. q- a
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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. / w; [/ w* a$ g0 Q
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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. 4 p9 l* z" w& u) T
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. % ` Y( J, o+ N* Y9 F# T
# R! ?, q, {6 ^+ B* b: I6 N"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." ; P# m% Q; N* P
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ( t+ ?7 b- Q2 j n2 C/ |# N7 e
8 z* l+ }3 K- J$ f2 r0 g, }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
