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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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6 Z2 n E4 Q- ~4 V. fEdmontonians 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. $ d8 W" [6 F+ o- ], J9 u
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. w7 @" V: ^* O4 O
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
, |$ U( L# ^2 H, v2 T6 d" y"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( y6 l9 y& H' E! I
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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8 o& p! Z w- C"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 0 B/ f7 c# f) e8 Y& ?) \6 x' L/ }
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ( _# E- Z! T: ^" T- l/ Z* y
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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0 t6 W: ~' B& T1 x0 i"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. & u/ B- F0 m. P, e" M+ }9 ~: E
2 ~& z, D# u7 x/ ~"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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0 O9 A8 v: H" m& W5 b4 V$ G- cMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ' l' X( X# V3 A' m7 K& x, U" m+ |
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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. ) `: B% w: R& M3 X0 v5 X3 ~" D
* B4 V. S1 i* M7 \3 [8 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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9 H$ [! ~- `5 c"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. & I: x: a/ A, p
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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." 9 o1 j1 ?' t/ d0 f+ A, s9 q& i1 t& T
, k6 m y5 ^ G/ fThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. & E% {: [# b5 s y
, Y+ b! c" s. e( N k- zThe 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. 7 d$ z7 `5 f! t5 \, @; Y% I4 t% X- W
0 k6 R% w% |+ j( H5 }$ PTax 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
