The Government should reduce duty on all goods by at least 20 per cent to address the cost-of-living crisis, the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union has asserted.

Chris Furbert was speaking at the first of four town hall meetings organised by the union to address the high cost of living in Bermuda.

Last night at St Paul’s AME Centennial Hall, Mr Furbert said the Government’s removal of duty on 21 essential items was not good enough, adding: “We have to get serious … 21 items … we have to bring down the whole basket of goods by at least 20 to 25 per cent and if you don’t do that you are wasting our time.”

The BIU presented a report it had compiled that highlights how prices have escalated over the decades reaching “a critical level”.

It cites numerous studies and reports including data that shows that the cost of living in Bermuda is 47 per cent higher than in New York City, which is used by Numbeo.com, the world’s largest cost-of-living database, as a base measure against 135 countries.

The BIU report includes information and data on cost-of-living index comparisons with other countries, purchasing power, average annual household income and household expenditure.

The report, which describes tax structure reform as government’s “most critical tool“ in addressing the problem, sets out 16 recommendations that will be put to the public throughout the town halls and eventually presented to the Government.

Mr Furbert was joined in a panel by the economist Robert Stubbs and Llewellyn Simmons, an educator and community activist.

Mr Furbert said: “Look at the number of Bermudians in poverty now — there will be more and more. If we have 30 or 40 per cent of people in poverty, it is not sustainable to continue on this path and it is incumbent on people of Bermuda to say what we need to say to politicians and businesses. The time has come for us to have a real conversation about the high cost of living in Bermuda.”

Mr Furbert expressed disappointment at the low turnout of people at the event. About 30 people were in attendance at the hall, which had seating for 200 people.

Mr Stubbs said one major problem is that Bermuda is not taxing capital income, which he described as “highly unusual”.

He said: “We are lightly taxing capital and over-taxing consumption. Your rents from commercial, residential and bonds, stock dividend payments — none of that is taxed. We are more reliant on consumption taxes here — customs duties. Higher-income people don’t have to spend all of their income. They have substantial savings. Lower-income people are forced to spend all their money just to survive.”

Mr Simmons’ focus was on a “stakeholder capitalism” approach. He used the example of Gorham’s Ltd, where MPs approved a 99-year lease for a piece of land in Pembroke to support a nearby sports club, and, in return, the company will invest more than $550,000 in improvements to St John’s Field and the Western Stars Sports Club.

Mr Simmons said: “All of that had me thinking about conversations about corporate tax. We need changes to the tax structure to support things in this context. I see the scenario with Gorham’s rippling across this island to transform the community and bring into the discussion private and public working in the interests of Bermuda.”

Mr Stubbs noted a business round table on corporate governance chaired by Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co, in 2019. Mr Stubbs said: “Jamie Dimon and the round table said that business decisions should not just be made in the interest of the shareholder” and that decision-making must consider employees, customers and communities.

He said: “This is what we should expect of not just Gorham’s but all the big businesses, the banks, Belco — all of them.”

There have been calls for the Government to speed up the distribution of financial help aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis.

In July, the Premier announced a $15 million economic relief package to help working families.

It included a payroll tax rebate, support for school supplies and increased food allowance budget for the Department of Financial Assistance.

One member of the audience referred to the protests on December 2, 2016 over the airport deal under the One Bermuda Alliance and asked when the union and the People’s Campaign were going to stand up and protest to the same extent over the cost of living under the Progressive Labour Party.

Mr Furbert said the town hall meetings held with the People’s Campaign were a means to galvanise support. He said: “Had the people not supported those issues, we would not have been successful. If we want to be successful with Bermuda’s cost of living, the people have to answer. No one is more disappointed than me … we can’t get 150 to 200 people to come out to a town hall meeting to talk about Bermuda’s high cost of living.

“We will have our meetings and make an assessment about where we go from here. It is about having feedback and we are coming to the people in the exact same way.”

Mr Furbert said that after the town hall meetings he would be calling for a summit to address the cost of living and then put its recommendations forward to the Government.