Notebook

Companies Praise Tax Bill, Announce Plans to Reinvest in Workers

Erika Haas
Erika Haas  |  December 20, 2017 6:35 PM

“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie accused Speaker Paul Ryan of living in a “fantasy world” this morning because he believes the GOP tax bill will lead to higher wages and significant economic growth. Well, it looks like that fantasy has become a reality. 

Since the bill passed the Senate (and re-passed the House), multiple corporations have announced their plans to reinvest in their workers. 

AT&T pledged to more give more than 200,000 of its U.S. employees a “special” $1,000 bonus once the tax bill is signed into law. The telecommunications company also said it will increase its capital spending in the States by $1 billion.

AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson praised President Trump and Congress for their work on the tax bill in a press release. 

“Congress, working closely with the President, took a monumental step to bring taxes paid by U.S. businesses in line with the rest of the industrialized world,” he said “This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs. In fact, we will increase our U.S. investment and pay a special bonus to our U.S. employees.”

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President Trump, in turn, commended AT&T during the GOP’s celebratory press event at the White House. 

“This just came out…AT&T plans to increase U.S. capital spending $1 billion and provide $1,000 special bonus to more than 200,000 U.S. employees, and that’s because of what we did,” he said proudly, surrounded by Republican leaders. “That’s pretty good. That’s pretty good.”

Pretty good, indeed. And it gets even better. 

Comcast says it will give $1,000 holiday bonuses to over 100,000 employees, and reinvest $50 billion in infrastructure over the next five years.

Fifth Third Bancorp, like AT&T and Comcast, also promised to shell out $1,000 bonuses for some of its employees. Those bonuses are expected to go out by the end of the year. The bank, which CNBC notes is the fifteenth largest in the U.S. by asset size, will also raise approximately 3,000 workers’ hourly minimum wage to $15. 

Wells Fargo quickly followed suit. 

It looks like the Left's tired talking point that the middle class is getting shafted with "tiny" benefits has been completely annihilated. Who thinks a $15/hr wage or $1000 bonus is little? Where we come from, that's real money and could allow many American families to spend more freely on groceries, orthodontist appointments, music lessons, home improvements or whatever they've been needing or wanting.

While Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, didn’t announce any bonuses or wage hikes, it will be putting $300 million toward “employee-related and charitable investments to spur innovation and growth.”

A press release offers more details on where the money will be going:

$100 million for corporate giving, with funds used to support demand for employee gift-match programs and for investments in Boeing's focus areas for charitable giving: in education, in our communities, and for veterans and military personnel. 

$100 million for workforce development in the form of training, education, and other capabilities development to meet the scale needed for rapidly evolving technologies and expanding markets.

 $100 million for "workplace of the future" facilities and infrastructure enhancements for Boeing employees. 

In the same press release, Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg thanked President Trump, his administration and Congress for "unleashing economic energy in the United States."

"On behalf of all of our stakeholders, we applaud and thank Congress and the administration for their leadership in seizing this opportunity to unleash economic energy in the United States," he said. "It's the single-most important thing we can do to drive innovation, support quality jobs and accelerate capital investment in our country."

Airlines for America jumped in and offered high praise of their own:

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today thanked House and Senate leaders for delivering comprehensive tax reform that will spur a new era of job growth and economic development.

U.S. airlines are vital to our nation’s economy and have long advocated for taking action to reform the tax code in ways that ensure carriers are positioned to continue creating new jobs, investing in our product and further enhancing the travel experience for all airline customers. 

“These historic reforms to our nation’s tax code come as welcome news to the industry, the 700,000 workers we employ and the communities we serve,” said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “We thank House and Senate leaders for their diligence in working to empower American businesses and U.S. airlines stand ready to continue leading the way toward a new era of job growth and economic development.” 

Calio noted that airlines generally pay taxes at the highest corporate rate and are capital intensive businesses which invest heavily in their employees, planes and equipment. The proposal’s significant reduction in the corporate rate and its depreciation provisions offer the incentives to continue and accelerate the significant investments already underway throughout the industry. 

As did the Dow Chemical Company Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris:

It's a good bet that these are just the beginning of the corporate announcements, and we'll be sure to update you as soon as we hear more.

We all know Trump doesn't drink, but we bet he's popping that champagne tonight.