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Tax deadline extended YOU HAVE TWO EXTRA DAYS TO FILE YOUR RETURN BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF Procrastinators rejoice! You have two extra days to put off filing your income tax. Normally due at midnight on April 30, payment for 2015 income taxes has been extended to midnight on Monday because this year’s deadline is on the weekend, say
tax preparers set up at Bower Place in Red Deer. While there are always a few people who put it off to the last minute, the reality in the last four years or so is that fewer people are waiting until the last minute to bring their taxes in, said Carolyn Fraser, a tax preparer working in the Personal Tax Services kiosk at the east side of the mall.
“We don’t do the instant refund. Ours are electronically filed and our clientele has stayed steady,” said Fraser. People who are comfortable with a computer and whose tax returns are fairly straight forward are finding it fairly easy to file their own returns, using free or relatively inexpensive software, said Fraser.
“So, in the last four or five years, we haven’t been getting as much of a panic at the end.” Those whose income is on someone else’s payroll should not necessarily expect a refund on the taxes they’ve paid out through the year, said Fraser.
Please see TAXES on Page A8
RCMP PUPPIES ON PARADE
2017 BUDGET
Growth revenue may dip BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF City officials are bracing for tough times ahead as the number crunching begins in preparation for the 2017 budgets. At open house on Tuesday, City Manager Craig Curtis said the city is projecting a significant loss in growth revenue. It is also dealing with the uncertainty of the carbon tax levy. “We rely on assessment growth every year and that grows as the city grows,” said Curtis. “In a really good year we will have $2.5 million in revenue. We anticipate it will be $1 million or less in new revenue. That has a significant impact on our projections for next year.” Mayor Tara Veer said city administration and council will be faced with a balancing act.
Contributed photo
Jake, Jolt and Jinx were born at the at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre near Innisfail on March 4, 2016. Every year, the centre invites children from across the country to submit names for its new puppies, especially bred for duty with human members of the RCMP. Suggested names were to begin with the letter J, indicating that they were born in 2016. See related story on Page A2.
Please see BUDGET on Page A8
No tax increase in 2016 in Red Deer County BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer County will hold the line on taxes. No tax rate increase is proposed in 2016, according to the numbers outlined in a tax bylaw given first reading by council on Tuesday. The move reflects council’s commitment to limit the tax burden at a time when Alberta’s economy is struggling, said Mayor Jim Wood. “To be able to make the statement, that it’s going to be zero, is really important in these economic times,” said Wood.
Some residents may still pay more in municipal taxes when they get their tax bills next month. If a property’s assessment increased in the year ending last summer, when calculations are made, taxes will go up. However, for most there is expected to be
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minimal impact given the assessment numbers the county has seen. “We’re not seeing a huge change in the assessment. We’re seeing localized ups and downs,” said Wood. Coun. Philip Massier was also pleased to see a tax rate freeze, jokingly suggesting councillors won’t be cornered by irate ratepayers. “It should be easy having coffee tomorrow when we can say our tax increase is zero,” he said. On residential properties, the county’s tax rate works out to $374.06 per $100,000 of assessment. The owner of a property assessed at $400,000 can expect to pay $1,496 on the municipal portion of their bill.
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Special levies to support community services, protective services and for environmental projects also remained unchanged. The county was able to keep its taxes in check by managing expenses. The $76-million budget is up only slightly over the year prior. As well, unlike some municipalities, the county was not hit by a steep increase in the amount of money it must collect for schools on behalf of the province. Red Deer County saw only a 2.56 per cent increase in the school requisition, compared with 10.2 per cent in Calgary, where the issue generated controversy and led to a total tax bill increase of over six per cent.
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