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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike2 E6 U3 m" [7 ^1 b0 x& C
$ W4 g% F1 w7 t, H6 Y- pThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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9 R6 B/ e9 O( KEdmontonians 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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3 ~* R: @5 F2 E: k4 a- `"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
/ p! X( e5 x7 Q* f4 t"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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7 T/ B, @( [& Z4 Y# m" ZA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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2 r" }+ x. r! o/ l3 d u"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 5 p5 P. I* [5 B4 {: H
, m5 o: m- v8 S( vCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 9 q6 P. i6 v( j$ Z5 K" l5 k1 F; A# O5 C
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The draft budget does not come out until November. : {& g1 N/ U& E$ w6 g" k
$ T' N4 A. J" B4 W"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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* C7 B( L4 x/ @% S( y% {"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 1 ]# f7 o2 ~6 _0 T; s; k
4 R7 O3 s% N! F& e) CMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 0 c* e8 ~+ j- K. g0 e5 e
. P4 N: b2 j1 P# [8 [5 ZHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 4 q; L8 e0 H% Q
( G. }& Z5 B3 `" N$ w( q"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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Scott 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.
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, ~1 i5 p7 a( }3 X- T"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. 6 j% G7 t, y& {3 X a
# M6 g' n. w$ I8 b6 H9 s+ WThe 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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) q7 x1 V9 v( O7 g$ c$ ^& C* M& ]- }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
