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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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, N1 |( M; g5 [Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 9 ^0 A+ s; E8 L1 P- i! k3 ?
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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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5 Z! r2 Y! T( f+ q0 o# mMandel 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. 4 r- P T8 |) }- o- T( {
7 c0 H) F. f& G2 B! Z2 c"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
! P8 c* _" Q% }- e& W"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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& _; ~0 U4 u9 t7 v* u: @( q"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. * m3 N$ h6 K, n- v
, S9 n; S5 A7 pCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. + C d4 |/ n7 d) `' Y+ S4 l8 y1 u3 B! {
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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F/ D+ D8 U/ J* V" A"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 A! R) t* a9 Z, ]# _# FMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. % g8 j$ M( a5 a" ^2 b4 g0 H
) a1 G9 M0 y& i- eHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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6 F& m5 T# W/ A% N1 g" o7 \5 e"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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9 D) r4 x3 ~/ v# V7 N+ LScott 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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$ z0 F- U* o: \- ?"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. + e# Q/ Y3 g7 I9 Z$ S# H
2 R* T2 E7 K" E' o$ w"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. 3 I1 t! f: C: T# F0 Z
0 u/ J! l5 o3 B4 @* HThe 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
