Multiple businesses are announcing bonuses and benefits for their employees due to Congress’ passage of Republicans’ tax reform bill.
AT&T announced it will give a special $1,000 bonus to over 200,000 AT&T U.S. employees and invest $1 billion in the economy, and Boeing announced a $300 million investment.
“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,” Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “It’s the single-most important thing we can do to drive innovation, support quality jobs, and accelerate capital investment in our country.”
Additionally, CVS announced it will hire 3,000 additional workers and FedEx announced it will increase its hiring.
Comcast announced Wednesday that due to Republicans’ tax overhaul and the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules, 100,000 employees will receive a $1,000 bonus.
“Based on the passage of tax reform and the FCC’s action on broadband, Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast NBCUniversal, announced that the company would award special $1,000 bonuses to more than 100,000 eligible frontline and non-executive employees,” Comcast said in a statement.
Fifth Third Bancorp announced it will give over 13,500 employees a bonus and raise its employees’ minimum wage $15 an hour, and Wells Fargo announced it will give $400 million in donations next year as well as raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour.
“This is just the first wave of many such stories,” Adam Michel, policy analyst for economic studies at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in an email. “These announcements show that businesses across America will put their tax cut to good use.”
The final tax reform bill, passed Wednesday 224-201 by the House, maintains the current number of brackets, seven, but lowers the rates to 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35, and 37 percent.
It caps the state and local tax deduction, which allows taxpayers who itemize instead of taking the standard deduction to deduct from their federal taxable income any property and income taxes paid to state or local governments, at $10,000.
The bill repeals Obamacare’s individual mandate, and also increases the current $1,000 child tax credit to $2,000 and gives a $500 credit for non-minor child dependents.
The legislation reduces the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and repeals the corporate alternative minimum tax but leaves in place the individual alternative minimum tax and increases the exemption.
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Even better news from the country’s businesses is yet to come, Michel added.
One-time bonuses are great news, but the real benefits are still in the future. As businesses and their competitors begin to increase investment in the U.S., workers’ yearly wages will also go up. It is the long-run benefits of tax reform through a larger and more dynamic economy that Americans should be most excited about.
