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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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. {! k0 d; y1 X8 kThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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5 O1 ?4 u Z" A2 E9 B" l XEdmontonians 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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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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9 `/ M9 s: V$ o: ^4 V( l; |9 ]% ]"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates- \. e+ k% l+ y) x6 n
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 2 o, H `6 `. S8 Q
) H* }, O3 l0 v$ t% h* VA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 5 R. r4 J* [) ?. A1 r% Z
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 8 h' c0 }+ G; p5 j4 v Q( D
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : J! x8 b4 O2 L
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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6 |9 {. U( p; p2 C"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 8 @6 P! C1 Z) f" B" `$ I' E
% T' G+ G2 L9 o$ o7 R"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." # j% S- I' D9 M9 L
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. . }2 e8 `+ H, T/ e
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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. 7 M* s3 g8 G" \/ W( i- m; r) ^
' e, D4 s4 g$ W0 s"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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( X+ p! c8 |% g# ~ h* l, [Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 9 `3 f2 i5 S# E
6 x) X" }) v- i+ t9 t1 h; m7 THe 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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& M+ N1 G7 {" Q4 e"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. / ^8 m( `5 i @3 `9 N) L8 Y
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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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% w8 m# L5 q) D1 m, ` Q2 t/ ~1 cThe 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.
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! `* R i% h) XTax 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
