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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike; Q/ L# x4 c; G( o8 @! O4 s
2 f1 X- _, ^# ?1 y, `0 V7 CThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. % K5 X! x u/ X) h' S1 D9 h
& N2 T1 U' W7 k) I4 V( o6 T/ wEdmontonians 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. 1 H7 S/ G6 V" G, |0 R
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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. ' f/ |. U; E! a4 D
0 ~( `- _' x) ]1 r |$ w"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. # n) ~# a' a; K9 ?8 e4 \
8 ~! v5 b# i2 U% jCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
' S/ q" W( e; [2 c"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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) }2 [9 K1 H6 _3 TA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. $ \, f9 |- @' o) E- B8 E
0 q5 z0 O$ S; `9 _3 @ V"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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Coun. 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. / l! c+ H, y* R% n | M6 C
" X9 G# ^8 e2 l"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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0 J* \: y. r. S- yMaurer 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. / y7 M3 X4 I. [& B! f% M
# J% @* C1 y/ d7 P$ v. m"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. " z9 {* o6 T q: j( M
# y/ C, E) o' x% T9 iScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 S. j z0 ^ }- t+ U9 o
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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. 8 r4 { g" A' b0 } l
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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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$ S5 t' L& s; x' _"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." ! k# F* S& X* {1 ^
0 n( G* D; p- S' FThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ( Y$ q' K/ d4 M2 L, D& b
0 T6 M) F/ B3 }. NThe 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. }# n; t) z3 u+ R1 r: T
4 j' \, }* ?' y7 d8 t LTax 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
