Senators yesterday spent about 40 minutes discussing whether Bermudians understand the “real reasoning” behind the recent increase in Customs duty.Several Senators chose to jump in on the debate about the Island’s residents having to pay ten percent more duty on personal items brought in from overseas.The move aims to aid the ailing retail sector and safeguard the 4,000 retail jobs of Bermudians some Senators insisted these motives were not clear to all residents.The lengthy discussion came before Senators unanimously agreed to pass the Customs Tariff Amendment (No.3) Act 2011.The legislation sees Customs duty permanently increased from 25 to 35 percent and the $100 duty-free allowance restricted to one person per household until the end of March next year.Junior Finance Minister David Burt said the retail sector had been particularly hard hit by the continuous decline in sales with “associated redundancies taking a debilitating toll on many Bermudian families”.Opposition Senate leader Michael Dunkley said the relatively simple bill was just two pages long but had “deep reaching implications across the community”.He said Government was saying it was doing all it could to tackle the recession but he sees them as “trying to pull a rabbit out the hat”.Sen Dunkley said: “Trying to save 4,000 retail jobs is a noble gesture … but people are hurting right now.“Increasing the duty rate isn’t going to be very palatable to many Bermudians and won’t be accepted in the right vein of what Government are trying to do.“This increase is being felt very negatively … but we’re not going to stop people travelling, people need to go away and go away on business.”Sen Dunkley also touched on payroll retail tax breaks saying the One Bermuda Alliance supported initiatives that “soften the blow of the recession”.But he said it would have “unintended consequences” as people were eating out less and buying more from grocery stores because of the recession, as the cost of staple foods increased.Sen Dunkley said: “I understand Government is trying to help struggling businesses but I don’t believe they all need that type of help at this time.“Government is giving away money when it should be earning it as revenue.”Sen Dunkley suggested “better communication” with retailers was needed and turning Bermuda into a duty-free zone could be considered.But Government Senate Leader Kim Wilson accused Sen Dunkley of underestimating the intelligence of Bermudians.She said: “Little regard is being placed on the Bermuda public. I would be offended and as a Bermudian, I am offended.“We cannot underestimate the ability of Bermudians in understanding something. It’s not that difficult to comprehend.“I understand the increase from 25 to 35 percent and I didn’t do very good at math.”Sen Wilson went on to explain that many Bermudians had family and friends working in retail and they fully understood Government’s intention to “assist the retail sector to keep Bermudians employed”.She added: “It may sit unfavourably with some people but the vast majority of Bermudians understand this is a necessity.”Sen Wilson, who said she hadn’t been overseas for two years, went on to stress that every dollar spent abroad, stayed abroad.Government Senator Jonathan Smith said the people of Bermuda “do understand” the thrust of the legislation which was to “buy local, buy Bermuda, keep your dollars in Bermuda.”He said: “Consultation has taken place with the retail sector. Government just doesn’t march along and change things unless there is consultation.”Sen Smith added that the Opposition’s suggestion of a duty-free zone was “a great idea” but the loss of $200 million in revenue had not been addressed.Independent Senator Walwyn Hughes also questioned how many people knew why they were being asked to pay more duty.He said: “There is room for a better understanding across the board that we should be buying locally when we can.”Independent Senator Joan Dillas-Wright added: “Even if people do understand it, they will probably still choose to go away to shop.”Opposition Senator Michael Fahy tried to clarify things by saying the OBA was just trying to make sure that people understood the importance of buying Bermuda.He added that people also continued to shop online as Bermuda’s small size meant there was a lack of choice in goods.Government Senator Diallo Rabain said they had “debated a lot of points to death” and had “pretty much said the same things”.Several Senators also used the debate as an opportunity to praise Bermuda’s retailers for finding “innovative ways” to drum up sales. They said local retailers needed to be “commended and congratulated” for events such as the Black Friday sales and corporate shopping nights.