Name Withheld•2 years ago The continued tax on the 'middle class' is excessive and is leading to more and more able and educated persons making the decision to leave the island. The proposed change in the social insurance tax scheme, while necessary, will only compound the issue. In addition, the inflation numbers provided by the Government simply can't be accurate. Health care premiums have increased easily 8% each year for the last five, food prices higher, education around 4%, gas higher, electricity higher. Not sure where these numbers are actually being pulled from but there is no way they're accurate. Here are a few other thoughts / ideas.1) Sliding tax on rental income from investment homes (ie 2nd, 3rd and 4th homes) - not the apartment that helps fund an existing mortgage, but where high net worth individuals own multiple investment properties. 2) Consider how to repurpose empty spaces such as unused government schools, sands 360 etc to help tackle both homelessness and also aging population - this will create jobs and proper housing / care for both sets of populations. Or alternatively, rent them! 3) Bermuda needs investment, but our crumbling infrastructure, lack of hotels, and lack of affordable housing makes it very difficult to attract new investment currently. 4) The hotel crisis (SHP, Elbow Beach, Bermudiana Beach, Ariel Sands, Horizons etc) has led to more apartment owners renting to tourists. That works to solve the problem of where short term visitors can stay, but it's resulted in a lack of rental properties for residents and a consequential surge in rental prices. It's simple supply and demand. More has to be done to repurpose empty hotel rooms into short term accommodation to ease the rental market. Alternatively, allow more flexibility in the building code to accommodate developers to build more apartment style buildings. 5) There needs to be a pathway to status. People who are long term residents need to have the ability to actually secure Bermudian status and be able to vote. People will pay for this right. 6) Our education system is in shambles. More children are educated in private school than public simply because the public system is not setting our children up for success. We must equip them with 21st century skills that are internationally transferable directly from high school. There are the exceptions currently, but it needs to be the rule. Every child matters. Reinstitute standardised, internationally recognised exam syllabus and hold our schools and the education department accountable. Consider creation of a charter school - public/private partnership with completely independent board of directors7) Consider making Bermuda College a residential college and allow foreign students to get their diploma / degree there. Upgrade the offerings / offer international co-op opportunities etc. 8) Reinstitute the parks commission. This group of volunteers served as a safetynet for Bermuda's parks and open spaces. Now, with a swipe of a pen, a minister can do what he or she wants and there is no voice or sounding board for the public. 9) Address lawlessness on the island. Fund the police properly so that they can proactively patrol and protect. There seems to be zero political will to honor the laws of the land - speeding, drunk driving, running red lights, etc - and nothing is done. Again, if Bermuda wants to attract business, then we must be seen to be a lawful and well run society - this is not the case, and consequently, Cayman is getting our business. 10) Exempted companies aren't necessarily the ones needing the help to hire - it's local companies. They're suffering. So sure, offer new position tax breaks, but they should be offered to all companies, and there should for sure be a 2 year cap and then a slide into the full tax rate. 11) Job Makers Act needs an overhaul - Government must make it easier for people to be work permit exempted for a fee. The hoops are unnecessary and again, leads to jobs (and subsequent support jobs) being transferred to other jurisdictions. We then miss trickle down economics. 12) Department of Immigration - I don't think that work permit fees should go down - if anything they can go up (Cayman is about 5x as expensive as us). People will pay, but not if they have to jump through 100 hoops and wait 3 months to hire. Make the process electronic, more efficient, and much more timely. Again, this drives business growth and encourages local positions. We live in a global economy - most international businesses / financial services businesses do not need people to sit in Bermuda to work - but as Bermudians, we want them to be encouraged to do so!13) Shift the anti-expat rhetoric. It's free and it will go a long way to attract business. Protectionist policies and the rhetoric that goes with them are doing more damage to the Bermudian economy than anything else.
