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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike( a+ o. f) F( A# _* E; v
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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9 ?4 ~, |9 R# |# OEdmontonians 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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3 l; ?9 L' I( c T+ u5 dMandel 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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: L- w# c) x) s# g% X+ h# j* ~& N"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 4 l+ s# c5 \9 x, @: W
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
, o* ?5 @. `6 ]" a"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. : n0 ~& ]9 O! @
" i9 h4 x6 `2 z: _9 S# }8 ?6 z9 vA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 3 x8 n1 V+ I. R m A- P
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"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 X1 u& ]1 |( ^' E
$ U+ x; s7 l/ \7 j( b: V) uCoun. 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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3 G. V1 I2 F% Z: qThe 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.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. * m" m" Z/ a7 x8 P- m& t
' O8 j1 V9 N$ ~: o4 _4 AHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. - J5 a! x1 F3 s
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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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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( F, l% ~ d2 @2 E, RHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. : _& V: }6 T/ } i+ `
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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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: J' ]# r( v+ p' O7 E"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." 5 @. g8 x, ~$ o, \: @
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. : f1 \( Z0 R, Z
9 g7 w* e, y* t$ X8 d; v" bThe 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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: j6 }$ a' Z: e6 T0 |4 L6 qTax 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
