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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. 2 S9 G6 R6 y5 I" ^) \+ [
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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. + z2 z. q2 i2 F
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 0 z$ I9 X( r6 a, x; A6 q+ z% ?
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates9 U6 C- a5 H* @0 u) M
"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 $200 a year. ] j# B& H6 ^/ z; k
; z# n: V# X, T1 P* S( ^1 G"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ' i1 q' T% k5 \0 W, k7 g
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ) T% V0 [) ], X/ G; ^0 e8 s8 R
1 r8 M6 K8 M4 oThe draft budget does not come out until November. % O! @, Z9 M/ z. w% s" X
! B v. c; t7 Z"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 2 ]& X5 V9 F; m
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. % ]5 g: d4 q8 n. J6 L
% l* s& ]0 D8 @8 a1 b4 y @9 [However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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3 Y6 F3 c& C" p( C, _, l"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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" [8 u) |' o/ {& i3 UScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 1 x8 M( z5 c t9 ?) X
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. : e0 f( V/ o! c+ |
/ D. B0 k" {$ }0 T1 ~ s"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." + h' h! U Y: T
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The 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. 6 W; v( v, |+ i- U6 @
8 w7 X5 \6 F- {0 t1 x3 yTax 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
