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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike$ F9 y4 `1 ^6 y" f# R
( w3 {9 l2 |. a: Z# F7 ~Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. : ^$ m7 C) a, G( n2 ?. P
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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.
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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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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
6 k0 [" L6 r) ?: v/ H. T"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 A7 S# e' n9 a" t
8 t2 g. ?% {0 ^: F5 g& RA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ) `. H- F: K" G% z% ^( ]
9 c; t% r; N$ W& Y$ ~$ W6 B"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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2 h% {: _& p- YCoun. 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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6 G( I8 n# r, h% h% w0 xThe draft budget does not come out until November. % t+ a& ~# C2 l. W; r, e$ D( k
9 \; L+ B5 W5 |( Q* s"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. - ]0 q' H7 X! R$ l- b) {7 N* {4 T
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." & J# \) T" u! D* x& T. R0 E$ ^
6 _+ T+ x1 T8 t+ C" Q8 CMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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7 |0 k$ T! x% m7 T: LHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. , R2 }1 r4 B; z; v# X4 q6 `
3 P( e. k7 w* a: U' w" A"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 2 D6 ~6 l8 |: W2 G3 q1 f. f3 U
~- G- B) P5 K7 a1 L% JScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. # w/ ?; q3 A: ]& o b2 e
' o) W4 y4 _" z& ^2 {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. 4 g6 `) p; }. X# l5 P7 |$ h* j
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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.
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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
