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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike" w, u' O9 h! F9 d/ q9 \
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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.
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~8 B+ w O: D! ?8 o: s/ I. \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. * t2 U1 h. G8 C1 D, y% e8 R# m0 Y
$ n/ Q$ I" R9 w0 SCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
) }/ W: ]8 i' q Z"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 c, e7 t }' q
' f, W# {$ v4 zA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. / D# E( a- k7 U. {+ T; `; ^
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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: `8 N* c+ E" l( e1 w. OCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ( {9 n( K2 [* K& \8 G3 w
8 c9 a7 X/ ]( l$ |' P- R8 R2 r& m2 dThe draft budget does not come out until November. : T Q; `( l( ^! U: F# B
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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. N Y6 b: ?5 l
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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1 s* C. \6 k/ }4 e1 ]* ]Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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+ Q. c1 x! G# @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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2 H, H' H5 {( P( e9 g9 N"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. / u' H4 A2 v! ~4 X+ N
5 x" `8 q* ]4 JScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. / s7 w1 x+ V o* h! k; N$ Q4 r) I
0 \) s+ x, Q6 W6 v8 `He 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. , G- _6 g3 x. I+ x3 K
c. c6 f; g- d"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. : R% d: s1 b% K% o2 f. F
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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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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
