This is an open letter to Premier Paula Cox.December 14, 2011Dear Premier Cox,I waited as long as possible before putting pen to paper in regards to the attached. However, the screams and cries from our customers have encouraged me to stand up and be counted. You have been kind enough in the past to read my e-mails when issues are relevant.Please see pg 2 attached with a comment attributed to you.“ Ms Cox said the changes to the Customs duty at the airport looked likely to be followed by introducing the 35 percent rate to all personal shopping through couriers”.The passion and anger of Bermudians on this issue is quite remarkable and I wanted to weigh in on my thoughts in a precise manner:1. Residents and Bermudians want and need a choice when shopping, whether locally or abroad. To be forced to shop locally by penalising them via duty rates is, quite honestly, unfair and unreasonable.2. The perception is that this is simply a massive tax hike to people that are already hurting in Bermuda. Tax hikes are never received well.3. If a Bermudian manages to buy an item online and bring it in and save money, then it follows that the money that they save will be spent elsewhere in Bermuda and will help the economy. Why should the retailers get all of their discretionary income in this instance?4. The retailers currently have the benefit of “payroll tax relief”. The playing field is already tilted in their favour. How much more Government intervention would they like along the road of forcing Bermudians as to where to shop?5. I would argue that there would be a huge backlash to the implementation of this policy against both the retailers who drove this policy and the Government for increasing taxes on the people.6. Lastly, and possibly most significantly, online shopping is not just handled by couriers. Residents buy fridges, washers, couches, etc and these items are brought in weekly in consolidated containers through BEST, BOSS, Bda Forwarders, Paget Freight, Fast Forward Freight etc to name a few. Many online purchases are brought in through air freight at the airport including AA, Delta, Air Canada, BA, US Air, Continental etc.Finally, The General Post Office recently did an Island-wide mailing to everyone in Bermuda arguing that residents should shop online and ship their items in through the Post Office with a marketing campaign “Lighten your load at the airport and keep your wallet heavy!”. They used OHMS and received free postage to directly compete with private business. I have to pay for my postage when marketing our business.My point is that shipping in via courier is only one method of shipping items into Bermuda once they have been purchased online. To penalise couriers is singling out only one method of importing and simply unfair.Retailers need to remember that the people demand choice and that they will react to any attempt to reduce their choice or inflate their tax burden. Retailers have a significant advantage now with the payroll tax relief. Now is the time for them to be more creative. For many yearsthey simply did not change and Bermudians know this. With the advent of competition, they are pushing back against Government to the detriment of the people of Bermuda.The idea that this duty rate hike is being considered to prop up inefficient retailers to the detriment of local Bermudians is simply unfair and unacceptable. The shipping industry in Bermuda also employs almost 1,000 Bermudians when you include all methods. We need support too.In closing, we need to remember that no items are really made in Bermuda. Retailers, much like ourselves, import everything into Bermuda and simply re-sell non Bermudian items. Why is their method of importing product so inherently superior to our method? We, the shipping industry, actually pay more taxes than the retailers as we don’t have the benefit of payroll tax relief. Our industry needs support so we can support the Government. All we ask for is a level playing field not one arbitrarily skewed by government policies in favour of a particular industry.Thank you for reading my message as its heartfelt and needs to be heard amongst the din of the retailers pushing for subsidies which would harm our people.STEVE THOMSONPresidentMailboxes Unlimited Ltd