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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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% `, L) J5 @ ?) j% B8 AThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. , O4 o7 \6 S4 }- Z
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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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) v2 F# P [8 e7 a; r7 l! X! C: gMandel 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. ) q4 Y% B: Q8 J- X0 e' I
) ]) f# s7 W' W2 [( K' V$ qCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates S& t* |6 h3 s" g: Z, B- @
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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D7 Q0 q6 q1 i, k- sA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 8 B) h4 l' I5 f- l2 Q) Y+ @9 R
! j9 q) w; M/ }; mCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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9 L! P1 Q0 x+ u# Q P1 @. EThe draft budget does not come out until November. . ^ K% D+ }" }0 B0 k3 W
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ) d/ R/ h6 t0 A; m, p# h9 L
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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* ^; S9 h" u; S3 L" W1 R' F/ I' vHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 5 p( s" A$ i. M) y7 O- o
# u6 D- w7 d/ g& o2 a, w8 G- a"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. # n3 y0 k1 I1 }& }
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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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0 Q9 r, F2 m! F# M) y0 p f3 aHe 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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& v- Z" s8 q) n7 S. S"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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) C8 [. A& d h# I0 _+ Z# I"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." 9 {/ F$ Y! w T' f
6 S4 H( n/ f, R5 QThe 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. 2 s7 p I1 F6 o; O1 Q' 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
