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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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A0 Q0 I; o- kEdmontonians 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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# Z! ^# w4 H* _"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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# U* P) h3 N! y, LCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
r' p+ [8 i; l5 ^8 p2 {1 {"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 $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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- s$ u) u- Y7 P7 L; x) Z' @+ ^, [Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. $ [1 C/ N( ?; u9 `- V( {
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 4 t- j P9 x; F% n
0 X% Q& B; ?( u8 a: @6 P4 n"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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$ G8 Z4 U/ ]9 ^" i! t, ?: Z$ {"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." * T* P T2 [- t5 s6 I6 d* [/ O
! z k" I }! ?3 v& g9 y n6 TMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ! K S4 ~- d6 ]. H
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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.
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( c7 ?# s6 G6 f: D3 H( i) j' B6 h"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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: x- ]2 y, o# TScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ( \8 C7 }4 Q" N
$ ^- Y& @- N5 sHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. + Y9 U% \2 W$ w" S1 ~% L* h
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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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% V( P- s' H5 l5 s6 C"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." 7 l3 E+ l7 R: _1 n- L- f4 m, {
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. - T# @& N) L4 Z/ Y- L! z( V
$ D8 O) K, n2 X' 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. # w1 `/ T/ D2 j2 e# `
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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
