The Government should impose a minimum corporate tax on big business if it is serious about tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

This is the view of Chris Furbert, the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union, who presented a case for such a move at the second of four town hall meetings on the cost of living in Bermuda last night.

Speaking at Clearwater Middle School, he referenced the international agreement between 137 nations to set a 15 per cent global minimum corporate tax rate on large multinational corporations.

However, Robert Stubbs, an economist and panellist at the town hall, said such a move would leave Bermuda in a vulnerable position.

Mr Furbert said: “If we have a structure that is fair where we say to IB [international business], you take care of all your expenses and every dollar you have left over — this is where the corporate tax comes from — you can keep 85 cents of that and we will take 15 cents. No one can say that is unfair or unreasonable.

“If we had a structure like that, we could pay down our debt in three years. There is enough money in Bermuda for us to have a corporate tax structure and some kind of income tax.

“We could take care of the debt, we could take care of the seniors, we could take care of the youth. Why is it that about 64 per cent of the countries around the world can have free healthcare but the most expensive country cannot have free healthcare for its citizens? Why?”

Mr Stubbs said we cannot rely on international business and that there needs to be a balanced tax system.

“Everyone who can contribute needs to be asked to contribute,” he said. “We need to tax capital income.”

Mr Stubbs said that he was not in favour of price controls, adding: “We have got limited government finances, we need to be careful how to spend them. If we want more bang for our buck, we need to target those individuals that need the money the most. We can have targeted financial assistance.

“If government finances were in better shape, if we raised revenue like the Fiscal Responsibility Panel suggested and United Nations wants us to do … Cayman has a smaller economy than ours by about a billion dollars, their government has higher revenue and spending than we do. They have a budget surplus. If we were able to raise significantly more revenue, some of that could be used to pay down the debt and give us a budget surplus — some of it could be used for financial assistance and some for investments in our infrastructure which are sorely needed.

“On the flip side, the private sector, when they are asked to pay more, they are going to want to see the government tightening up its own financial management. We need some sort of quid pro quo.”

Mr Furbert presented data from a report produced by the BIU which includes cost-of-living index comparisons with other countries, purchasing power, average annual household income and household expenditure.

He shared some reports that indicate how household expenditure has for decades been outstripping the rate of inflation over successive governments.

Mr Furbert said: “Successive governments have failed to look at Bermuda’s high cost of living and really do something about it.”

Ajai Peets, of Bermuda Youth Connect, an activist group advocating for young people, tuned in to the meeting remotely and shared concerns from a youth perspective and what she believes needs to be done.

She said: "Firstly, we need to be in these rooms having these conversations. I feel there is a disconnect between young people and politicians. This is our future. We need to consult with government and leaders, and the people making these decisions so our future is secure.

"Also, we need more diverse opportunities for young people. If I come back to Bermuda with a degree and I can’t get a job as I don’t have enough experience, there needs to be experience that we can get.

"Thirdly, there a needs to be direction and guidance for high school and middle school students. If there is an area in healthcare where there is a vacancy, we should encourage them to pursue the education required to fill those jobs.”