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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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% C$ W$ ?8 _2 N- B2 V7 dThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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. ^8 L. Y$ g# F. {1 ^" C; j/ nEdmontonians 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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- ^7 W$ Y0 I/ \* \8 ]7 e4 W9 B1 ]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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. , B/ m, ~) z, O, `# l$ K1 y
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates* n4 d s5 C+ q2 n9 h' |, o! l0 w" |
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. s* E: e5 E$ z3 l! H' E) |! J0 w
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. " S3 x0 K$ I0 _
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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. + K; J4 }! G1 `$ R3 I6 r, q
5 T: q2 q* M5 Y+ W9 X; r) C- qCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. k4 ^) L! D: i* h6 x& ?
) m8 T) p2 j( _The draft budget does not come out until November.
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`" J/ k% u7 H$ W+ d1 N- v5 u2 u"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. , U- U4 L: _4 C# I
9 i8 ~7 O! {( @: Y6 F0 `"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. 4 f3 K V- v8 K0 R. }& P5 f
% ?4 i" Y1 _( v, M$ b# U% @+ X5 tHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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$ N: ~' K1 |5 F1 k( D/ H"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ; G7 e9 n) t+ z9 b* g4 g. [8 \) h
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 f) C+ C" I" Y9 \6 ~" v
; u& C9 H |4 e! hHe 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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* [2 h) E8 L$ f+ K2 m5 P"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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, V/ Z* q" w4 {8 n! M7 {The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 6 J+ g! l8 |7 i( u
5 w% [5 F& K+ b) a& J0 @" Q' ZThe 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. 2 Z# a) ^, W& k& K2 H
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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
