It wasn’t long after House Republicans passed tax reform and sent it to President Trump’s desk that one American company responded in incredible fashion.
There was a time when AT&T was the nation’s largest employer. While the company has shrunk over time, it remains one of the biggest in America. Despite only employing a third as many people as they did during the company’s peak in the 1960s, AT&T still employs over 273,000 people. While many companies (particularly those in the tech industry) are notoriously good at hiding money overseas, those in the telecommunications industry have to pay close attention to the current 35 percent marginal corporate tax rate.
For that reason, the corporate tax rate cut today to 21 percent is massive. And AT&T is going to be a huge beneficiary. Back in November they pledged to invest $1 billion in America if tax reform passed, and they just kept their promise. According to CNBC: “The telecom giant said in a press release on Wednesday that it would give more than 200,000 U.S. union members a special bonus of $1,000. The company also increased its capital expenditures budget by $1 billion in the U.S.”
JUST IN: AT&T announces it will "pay a special $1,000 bonus to more than 200,000 AT&T U.S. employees" due to tax reform passage and will also increase US capital spending by $1 billion. https://t.co/jn8limUSe7
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) December 20, 2017
More from the report:
“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,” CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement. “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.”
Many are speculating that that this was a superficial move. AT&T is currently trying to merge with another big media and communications company, Time Warner. This announcement will assuredly be touted by Trump as proof of his success. That may, in turn, make him more comfortable with allowing the merger to go through.
Regardless, I doubt AT&T employees are thinking about that right now. They just got a big Christmas bonus. What a wonderful gift!
Share this story if you think Trump’s tax reform plan is already a huge success!
