Package companies are stepping up their efforts to stop a potential import duty hike ahead of Government’s Open Budget Town Hall Meetings today.In a mass email plea sent out this week, Bermudian-owned companies, Mailboxes and BEST Shipping, asked thousands of their customers to attend the Town Hall meeting as well as on January 25 and February 1 to voice their concerns about a possible rise in duty on imported goods to 35 percent.In her Pre-Budget Statement in December, Premier Paula Cox said Government was considering “harmonising duty for personal imports”, potentially looking at making the duty rate on personal imports shipped in by air or freight, more in line with the airport rate of 35 percent. Currently duties range from five percent to 33.5 percent depending on the item.In early January, Steven Thomson, president of Mailboxes Unlimited and Tom Nelmes, chief operating officer of BEST Shipping also sent out an email plea.This time Mr Thomson provided his 9,000 customers with a detailed list of upcoming meetings and said: “Ninety five percent of all imported items come into Bermuda via ocean freight, air freight, courier or the post office, which are billed at the normal lower duty rate. Only five percent comes through the airport, which is at a 35 percent duty rate.“If the intention is to ‘normalise’ or ‘harmonise’ duty rates, lower the airport back to the normal duty rates that all other methods are on.”In a letter to his 4,000 customers, Mr Nelmes said: “This will not only impact the domestic importer (man on the street) but business owners, too, indirectly.”