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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.
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, J. P }$ d; J9 V! t0 H" ?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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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.
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' C8 j, Y9 F+ w0 BCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
% x1 K: F+ U0 w, a) Y"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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, A$ e! P2 d0 T, J3 P; l( o" `A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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, Z% @# W- t q. `# T, G1 y/ E"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 6 w' {$ I, S, E% e0 {8 N
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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. , B, Q% [$ @# n: I8 P
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The 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. ! A8 p1 ^. b* ^2 @
4 D) W. H1 s( J3 q"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." $ ]9 g# R; H% \( u4 H/ c
& f& X# N/ ]: b d2 b% gMaurer 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. 6 B+ i1 {3 u: B' y c
, }0 n5 C. t; S m; ^' _/ J"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 6 A' Q( R3 r" {( S3 q, q1 g
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ! f6 z1 P6 C" w$ D+ V" Q) k: ? w7 B
6 Z/ s4 K1 e+ P; lHe 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. & `5 b+ q2 J+ y$ l! P4 b& I
$ K, \9 [! ~5 K2 Q9 W: m"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." & l; c8 N. p1 m
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. , v( T# k- f8 q0 @# T' @. Y1 {
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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
