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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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: h: q! \: |- l0 }; wThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. % X- @3 |3 S z1 C
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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. # h, ~8 m I2 l9 W$ c1 e
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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 C/ J# T! @+ x- u"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 3 p5 j+ B% r" C* @7 k
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( p; x. U; r; ~! _4 \$ r
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 ` G1 a* ]& u' v7 y
4 [* j4 K; l% q1 ^4 e( HA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ( g$ V& x/ o0 ?* K7 z4 C
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The draft budget does not come out until November. " t4 H# s- S" a2 I! j) b: R
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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. % x$ }, x( H+ Q3 f
3 f/ ~, }& T1 O7 Z! O$ m: q"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 4 l$ H; _) |9 U6 ~$ U
, E/ y% t' {- N: m+ {" [5 n4 M6 YMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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. 8 W5 {0 `- b ~+ i/ p
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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. ) L$ ~( y, } g0 u. O8 }' F
* h9 [3 B$ X" F$ ]( S: T6 B/ jScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. # _$ x% T2 ?; P: F% U$ u5 [4 b
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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. 9 c1 S: _/ I1 H) L/ y" N8 W
2 v# t6 \- h3 W0 L: o! E1 w$ d0 c"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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8 H2 S4 w& q( _- ["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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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6 A" H& E1 ?1 \* m" vThe 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. - }7 V( n0 Z8 i. {; n5 b
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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
