More than 100 U.S. companies are giving their employees up to $2,000 in bonuses after President Trump’s tax reform package became law.
The conservative taxpayer advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) compiled a list of companies that gave their employees a little extra cash after the tax cut legislation passed, whether it be through bonuses or an increase in wages.
The group initially put out a list of 40 U.S. companies that are offering these incentives to their employees, but Thursday, that list grew to more than 100 when more companies, including many small businesses, disclosed their tax reform employee incentives.
“Small businesses from across the country are sending me news of their tax-cut bonuses, wage hikes, and charitable donations. Many of these were only announced internally. There is a broad and deep tsunami building,” John Kartch, ATR’s vice president of communications, told the Washington Examiner.
Some of the companies listed as giving their employees bonuses include AT&T, American Airlines, Bank of America, Southwest Airlines, and Sinclair Broadcasting. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines were some of the first companies to announce such bonuses.
Other companies on this list are giving their employees other financial incentives, such as increasing the minimum wage or increasing employer contributions to employee 401(k) accounts.
Wells Fargo announced that it would raise the minimum wage from $13.50 to $15.00 per hour. The company also announced an increase in charitable donations and capital investment on the heels of the newly passed tax cuts.
Aflac announced that it would increase employer 401(k) matches from 50 percent to 100 percent on the first four percent of earnings and give all employees a one-time $500 contribution to their 401(k) accounts.
ATR President Grover Norquist said that these company announcements are nullifying arguments from Democrats that tax cuts do not improve society.
“Every announcement of another company raising wages, hiring, paying bonuses, investing in America is another nail in the coffin of the Democrat attacks on the Republican tax cut,” he said.