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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike: S0 i4 e$ Q* t+ ?8 z0 o5 ^, {6 ~ f/ a
1 N l! y* _1 Z. |) `Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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1 f" A8 i$ k3 ~( x7 j+ ]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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( a* H7 |3 v2 p" v4 LMandel 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. * }. g) c* Z7 ^3 G6 p; E! o, [( E4 L
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
9 }3 t% g6 `; v* T, A) W& \"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 $200 a year. / G/ j( n& b0 E1 T7 V3 i
' z! o- I9 X: N"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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: f- W( M! O. a; d8 v% e9 HCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 4 K4 I* f$ z: l8 J- |; v
, ~* ?) M4 {2 a"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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, {% i% e1 q! ^' E5 B$ CMaurer 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. 3 z# F- e/ t* {: S5 {
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"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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: w: m' H$ g% h8 E$ q6 }- MScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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6 e8 i1 _4 J6 M% j, L8 N2 H" b1 tHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. . P/ c1 P( p m4 f4 `
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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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. f8 Y0 }) ~# Q% W" ^3 I7 l"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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h. J3 \ T4 `9 R1 aThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. % X* ]9 K9 Y7 ~2 b
. p ~4 P8 [; q, KThe 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. 5 c' ?; _- v2 J6 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
