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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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( n" D* D7 e+ _$ P8 h' h" A6 GThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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+ d7 q! D; D9 Z9 u; L! k* Z% h" |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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/ l. C$ D9 w5 \) S( M* B+ @+ _. pMandel 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. 3 X" N7 v' Z! R# Y0 V5 X- y; G
' z3 C7 L% y, @" B"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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- g u3 j0 [4 @* j& F BCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
2 I2 Q& V, k% Z8 X. S& e4 ` X"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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8 q3 @# q1 q6 _+ z0 [6 v0 P9 hA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & O% W% x z$ _6 L6 ]
# e, m: r3 @/ z/ v, F- g5 e"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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/ r' A7 I D, o7 F. X1 {Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 7 u) [, U6 p) M! w$ F
^, p& B, p/ `* x3 v2 d" J5 gThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"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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% k$ v- w6 Y1 | Q8 _4 l/ }"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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' X4 m5 N$ z) cMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 0 o4 S# j7 p) y" y- @0 o: j+ ~
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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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. $ G7 u; r" D& h: w
# |! k/ X8 K2 F: U, Z, D3 a, qScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. - g# E) s, i6 z& R1 J3 k* L$ f
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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. ; M$ P: S8 b; d, u/ [
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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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3 q6 h- ~5 b2 p T, d"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." 5 F* V# A6 w' X* G4 ?3 M+ o
1 Q2 y/ t+ S- m7 K& gThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 1 S _2 e% S: f) ]! u0 |
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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. 3 w% d! r# x- w1 F) H: [/ r
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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
