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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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) E. ~* I) Z/ z4 GEdmontonians 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 Y% ~9 t' {% x' w
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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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 5 g; Y) G: ]2 J9 D2 }
) L5 ]% L ^# F2 H+ {City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates) H8 x& u7 D: [1 m0 C
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. & v6 ]& c- G( F! \+ D2 ~
Z- j; G L+ |. uA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. , L6 V4 Y- u6 V; l2 e) |
+ X5 M" m$ M( N2 v6 e! S& 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.
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- t* j3 \- `$ m; t- s+ B% X* R# `"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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% _; o$ B K2 m- o3 S' x- F. pHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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7 ]! w8 W3 e I# ?; ]"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. $ u4 d) `6 G5 H& c1 R: R8 O
1 [1 B% Q, F& ^- sScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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& E& d# ?2 Z" C) q& LHe 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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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: L+ B2 F3 x$ F8 f. u; b* N3 G) q4 V"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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/ D3 [# C+ d5 e. [8 Y3 s* \) [1 W- OThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 9 ?) c. M# J! g8 X4 ^
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The 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
