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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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$ |/ A: Z& e3 l: `( W) kThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. * {( i# J) {; W5 k( L+ d e/ Y4 v
# l) V% E& k$ Z% DEdmontonians 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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& E8 B: @5 j' d( a, ^- u"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' r7 Q2 v3 N7 m/ N
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ' K, O* C8 Z- Q! E
- C- Y' H( ^5 W4 B7 F- ]$ K* t! L. WA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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" {" H$ F* ~& ^( Q# p) j: A# 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. 6 {0 v, L6 m8 [* m" C5 _9 ^; {
5 L9 L; y4 e& R9 qThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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0 a3 L9 v1 m; i* n/ h0 d) M"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. ) ^! j# \+ E+ {6 ]3 t* O
4 Z, b" K" W/ Q"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." : M( a2 w- M% e4 r
+ d9 i; z1 p2 e& [" I" JMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. . C% u$ [8 l4 t% [+ I H6 O
" w* A* C; r0 P& JHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. # {. ^0 m5 D# O( b' p& i0 b
' c; b& q1 T6 A3 a3 |& }: M"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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0 w: R8 Z3 P6 e# LHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. / T% G, ?3 f$ i
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 0 q* G1 ^# K2 b- ?8 P1 V- W9 R& b
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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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' v5 g$ P) e9 X( N" R6 SThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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3 O! M L* w8 s) f4 H; dThe 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. # S- l6 Z# f5 C% I1 T
' K+ I1 V% u% p0 S* W5 _% c) q$ r+ |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
