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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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# Z$ r( C S C( Y' h$ vThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 0 D& n p9 H$ s7 _; c8 e
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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. ( I9 _: M5 A1 Y
6 T- }! K: F# C" g! tMandel 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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8 k7 j! Y+ `, ^"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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4 m5 [# a8 g' i) SCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates7 K1 n4 S5 _( z2 [8 G5 @5 F
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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( y, e% V D+ |; \A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. , N& w( M. M/ k7 i
7 @5 D$ R" t1 O2 N"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. % g! b- F5 o! p/ N
' O# i! Z6 i1 e/ U( I3 P6 |Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. / w) Q* W- d5 j) v& q$ ^
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The draft budget does not come out until November. : @' v. V# Q u& f0 q% `
1 n% ~1 F% U0 }"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. 6 G/ i, @4 X) {4 z) U, y
3 ]7 ]! U5 S; i6 P; H" a) e) P, v"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ( f% F: X9 q! f5 a8 w# m) j
6 K2 D( D! G+ e% R" `" pHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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$ T6 `+ `2 }; i; r) T, R* `5 H! H"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 4 I# g- {/ f6 U& B
" V- i2 {5 T4 R! f' b( X( RScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. * ]" A( N7 ~. J0 H3 ~5 D5 B L' |; z
2 b6 M: [* D- n/ ^4 OHe 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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"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." $ {" c* F! _' P, c- `3 a
( D' ?( ]1 g, C8 n% GThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. / ~" J3 y# L+ q) k+ K- I
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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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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
