2012 comparison should have revealed tax issues: coalition

A group of Hatters concerned about what they say are wild fluctuations in this year’s property tax assessments say they’ve finished a comparison to last year and that the numbers should have raised immediate red flags.

The City is also laying out the process by which Hatters will be informed of programs to cancel or defer certain amounts of increases.

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Owners get taxing assessments

Business owners from across the city are meeting today to figure out a plan of action after their tax assessments show increases from 25 to 200 per cent.

That would mean some tax bills could triple no matter the result of the tax rate debate at city council next month.

“There are some guys wondering how they can pay the new assessment and keep the same number of employees,” said Doug Corah, owner of the Kitchen and Light Gallery, and a partner in Central Mini-storage, both on Factory Street.

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Property tax income to grow in ’13

Strathcona County council received the results of the 2012 property assessment at its Tuesday, Feb. 5 meeting, along with an introduction to a new online tool to help residents determine their property assessments.

Strathcona County council received the results of the 2012 property assessment at its Tuesday, Feb. 5 meeting, along with an introduction to a new online tool to help residents determine their property assessments.

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Average home values in Edmonton up 1.3 per cent

EDMONTON – Civic property assessments are being mailed out this week, with the typical single-family home in Edmonton now valued at $364,000, an increase of 1.3 per cent from July 1, 2011 to July 1, 2012.

That compares to a drop of 1.7 per cent last year, but is relatively stable compared to the nine-per-cent spike in 2010, and two consecutive 10-per-cent declines the years before.

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34% of Calgary condo buyers not confident they could afford condo fee increase

CALGARY — Many Calgary condo owners are not aware that their monthly condo fees can increase at any time, says a report released Thursday by TD Canada Trust.

A survey of condo buyers in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver found that 66 per cent of buyers in Calgary didn’t realize condo fees could increase at any time. It also found that 34 per cent of them are not confident they could afford a condo fee increase.

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Big bill for Sturgeon Valley

The Sturgeon Valley needs about $52 million in upgrades for future growth, says a report to county council, and the county might have to more than double its levies in order to get the money.

County council voted 4-0 Tuesday in favour of first reading for the Sturgeon Valley off-site levy bylaw. Mayor Don Rigney was absent. Coun. Don McGeachy abstained from voting due to a potential conflict of interest.

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