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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike8 T7 ^% V5 F7 g
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 4 E( a2 Z" E' U# M- \; h
9 j+ J) {% f$ j- sEdmontonians 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. 5 `+ u3 `! S6 X/ B) ~% R/ c
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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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, e# w9 U6 ^& a8 ~8 r' q"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. . v) k6 ` G) F- b! W
5 Y# f' M4 b; w8 _& uCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates! V' ?5 \9 O' v8 r; ?
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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4 v# P* O: R9 LA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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3 c0 T( A) h, \, `. }3 n"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ( S: @: r! m1 ]/ ?- X q
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 0 [/ X' B2 ?8 d6 h' q3 b" H
" a6 U( N, M! h: _% W$ r+ g- j$ sThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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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. ! v' b0 ?6 }1 H- y
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ! T- A. A! E' t0 m4 ?9 ^7 U
+ @! _# c9 m5 u, FMaurer 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.
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+ w8 I) ~2 Y/ p8 j& E, O V$ q! {"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ' w5 \& P8 e+ X! u( r
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. & D" O9 H$ c1 r
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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. : L9 t4 h/ U7 V% ~$ M
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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." % ~) x# ~& j& Z$ b! n* I/ Q
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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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. d. z; x( C# U% M) RThe 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
