Retailers have expressed their deep disappointment at Finance Minister Paula Cox's Budget package claiming it failed to meet their expectations and address the key issues facing the industry as a whole.

A reduction in payroll tax for retailers between January and March 2011 was announced in yesterday's Budget, in addition to offering customs duty deferment on specific items.

Meanwhile, following consultation with the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Minister said the rate of duty would be cut on certain consumer electronic items, such as televisions, to bring them in line with other electronics.

But Kristi Grayston, chairman of the Chamber's retail division, described the measures as too vague and not going far enough to help tackle the main challenges facing the retail sector.

"Frankly I am a bit disappointed and had greater expectations than that, it is a very disappointing Budget from a retail point of view," she said.

She was also irked by the Minister's comments in the speech referring to the need to avoid a "Reid Street-doing-fine mentality and a North Street that suffers", saying that retail was an Island-wide industry and encountered the same issues, and required any relief it could get during these tough economic times.

And Ms Grayston added that she was calling for the tariff on electronics to be lowered to 30 percent across the board for everyone rather than just on specific items.

"We looked at it this morning and thought 'Government has asked everybody to pay up more and they are not paying anything back themselves'," she said.

Ms Cox also provided a grant of $2.4 million to the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation in her Budget statement, with the Ministry of Finance widening the scope of concessions available in the Economic Empowerment Zone to include a new branch or subsidiary of an existing business.