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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike4 L7 { X; K/ J% j* O$ P4 c
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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( a. s! A& v! kEdmontonians 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. ) @# c1 @# z }) [
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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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& G0 T6 E8 E0 E z6 Y8 T! Y; X"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 8 _1 V. l6 s1 I5 W8 s
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ U, E4 I7 E/ J1 Y3 o1 g
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ! \+ u; V$ f' ^
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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) i. V0 w0 p* s% p G% E" a- ^7 K"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 6 F- f [/ ]( m- X' c( h
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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) [' Y2 W( s( H0 D* oThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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8 J0 Q" I z9 a* Z& J"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ) w: w& a0 v1 r4 D& R
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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/ B6 E2 e. J! n6 r/ l1 S' a1 FMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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! } M( w$ _3 }5 x1 WHowever, 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. 2 X- ~$ W4 C$ Z( i% n+ I( w0 {
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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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' t( C+ ]9 C4 D; B0 [# {"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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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; ^' z' z @% j+ X6 XThe 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. + G0 ]$ j/ O' k
5 p' ~% A# {' ?$ CTax 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
