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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike3 K' K& \' f, @. B
7 h1 p E5 H) |( \9 [8 UThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. . I; D8 w' P" l% x A
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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. . [' t% l4 a. d% I# W% }' ]
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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. 4 x" l" L6 M. \1 U
/ ]- V9 g. `8 w9 v"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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$ `3 M0 y4 l# p# y+ q- ]/ ?City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates9 @' u/ ~; \0 r% n, B
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. & E/ |% ?0 r) ^% h; b* l0 }) M
8 O" ?9 _% q: R3 T1 j& kA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 7 z. \" f, c+ y% r* _" _5 x
2 G3 ~% v& V+ W Z& i+ a"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. : Y5 b3 u" ~7 J6 |7 o' D1 G0 Z' S
) f' G f" U- D9 K- U( S3 ACoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 f0 ~9 @* K3 f" p8 F& W
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. & J, [0 d1 ], Q% Y: ]
5 D! U7 ?) Q5 a* L"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. : e. @8 \% g! f. }2 @% K
: O8 E$ K3 s8 \ o) d5 H1 q; l, gHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 0 A/ U; d# Z! C% q ~
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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. % T2 U: i, H5 V) E# w2 {3 r
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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. & A8 {& O0 b5 h' X a/ o5 k7 n
5 ?5 m# ]( W2 y9 e/ S1 q: P' R"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 8 L! C6 _$ J9 Z6 ?6 o
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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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6 k3 q* a' O5 n3 b1 ^9 |The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ) d- h2 {+ `4 u' h1 @
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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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9 y: B2 U0 b8 \* NTax 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
