Republican lawmakers proclaimed that the passage of the new tax reform bill would mean an almost $4,000 wage increase for average American households.
Although the benefits of the recent tax reform bill are being debated on Wall Street and Capitol Hill as to whether it will actually produce substantial benefits for middle-class American households as indicated, we have already seen several U.S. companies offering employees perks and benefits this holiday season due to its passage.
From one-time bonuses to a permanent increase in hourly pay, the new tax reform bill that was recently voted on and passed by the Senate is already showing signs of how many middle-class families will benefit financially due to their employers having to pay less corporate taxes. The new permanent tax cuts were so well-received by large corporations, that the benefits are already trickling down to employees – just in time for Christmas.
The first company to make an announcement about the plan to share the wealth with employees was AT&T. Since their announcement, several big businesses have shared their plans to reward employees as well as make future investments in the United States.
Here are a few corporations who have decided to share the benefits of the new tax reform with their staff:
AT&T: AT&T corporate officials reported that they would pass along their income tax savings with employees once the bill was passed. Now that the bill has been approved, AT&T plans to give a bonus of $1,000 to more than 200,000 of its non-management workers just in time for the holidays. In addition, the communications giant also confirmed in an official statement of their plans to invest $1 billion into the U.S. market in 2018.
Comcast: Cable and media company Comcast, who owns NBC Universal, also announced that it would pay a bonus of $1,000 to its 100,000 frontline and non-executive level employees. Comcast also expects to invest over $50 billion over the next five years to improve and extend their broadband plant and capacity, as well as its theme park, television and film companies.
Fifth Third Bancorp: Fifth Third Bancorp, based in Cincinnati, OH, plans to raise the minimum wage for its 3,000 hourly employees to $15 per hour in addition to a one-time bonus of $1,000 for all of its 13,500 employees by the end of the year. “We want to invest in our most important asset – our people,” said CEO Greg Carmichael of Fifth Third Bank. He also indicated that the tax cut provided an opportunity for the bank to “reevaluate its compensation structure and share some of those benefits with its talented and dedicated workforce.”
Wells Fargo: San Francisco Bank Wells Fargo Bank, who was recently involved in the scandalous opening of almost 4 million unauthorized client accounts, also announced their intent to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour from their current hourly rate of $13.50. They also intend to spend $400 million on donations to community and non-profit organizations in 2018.
Boeing: Aerospace company Boeing announced plans to move forward with $300 million in investments and charitable contributions, which includes $100 million in employee education and training and $100 million to enhance facilities at Boeing as part of their “workforce of the future” initiative. “Each of these investments benefits Boeing’s most important strength – our employees – and reflects the real-time impact and economic benefit of the reforms,” said Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. “The reforms enable us to better compete on the world stage and give us a stronger foundation for the investment in innovation, facilities and skills that will support our long-term growth.”
Other companies who have announced their plans to pass tax savings on to their employees include CVS Health and FedEx.
President Trump praised AT&T’s early announcement, and is elated with the growing number of announcements made by other corporations since the tax reform bill was passed. In his recent remarks at the White House, the President was quoted as saying about the increased employee benefits and corporate investments, “That’s because of what we did,” he said, “So that’s pretty good. That’s pretty good.”
~ Liberty Planet
