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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike0 t1 L* A& T- l8 g( U. l: d) U/ M
. Q% s" J7 y G- Q! lThink 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. 0 T7 y1 A' v4 @. h; P( i& R
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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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" W9 S) P% |, B" x"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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$ X \4 o' v7 b( |* p' r& [% BCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ Z; \* S5 d: L8 _7 |9 T
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 8 ]: F3 O1 Y1 a' s# ^4 i$ Y
, J+ p6 C0 Y! |! |"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. * u1 P3 e" V8 u5 [8 T' X
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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.
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2 L( y, f( P- N3 i! ~/ ?$ i/ tThe draft budget does not come out until November. ' F7 j2 r/ ]3 e5 j9 u
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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.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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6 n' Q" I" r' n4 t2 B" DMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 4 t! }: B0 H9 r4 Y
- s( i; F3 |! m" n1 _! A5 A; ?$ EHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. U+ D2 i2 H p5 ]7 m4 ?) w
9 \ }" l6 \# B# A' v5 G"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 Y" [) S2 W4 C& h; O8 z
+ T! g# a T. T, OScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. y4 R+ h9 ^; s) P5 |
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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.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. * p0 h$ p; i5 W5 v' g
* l- G# R# s2 a2 \: S"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." 4 {% ?4 T0 W7 g. n6 ~4 z
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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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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
