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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ; y) S; O/ w, [ S
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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. * v) N0 N/ r+ C( q
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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. 9 k. Z% @5 b6 Z$ t0 x& m
4 @# ?2 m: j, `. C& c/ w7 I5 F) _"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 4 L, J# a: @# K6 U2 F% |1 D8 t: Y8 K
q. \! c! P' z" Y S9 \3 \City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates4 x- M ?( Q4 E
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 3 M) `+ b% r( |/ {; c2 h
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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# O7 H$ {9 \4 u# iThe draft budget does not come out until November. ; `) T+ E) H- b# \7 F3 ]: f1 l
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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. : @2 E5 _& _$ F: R9 A2 |
; C" e: A1 r' p' c6 p% t"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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- Y/ c, W2 D" MMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. : p# d/ y' \: n$ ^2 F# H0 d
; w( C- O; ~) ~* yHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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" Y% l9 }, L' e* ]"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. . f2 N8 G9 j' e( j+ l' R L
) v$ j; h1 @! }& EScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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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. % z7 V* C6 F! g$ a
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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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. $ u7 g2 u3 r5 O, i( w
, `7 z- K' ?8 r! sThe 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. , K; H5 m ?# ?& j' z" x# b3 ~6 U: ^
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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
