Another Day, Another Story on the GOP Tax Scam's Benefits for the Wealthy...
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – the GOP tax scam is a windfall for wealthy Americans and corporations, not working families. While shareholders are receiving billions in dividends and benefiting from record stock buybacks, fewer than 45 of 500 corporations have shared their tax benefits with workers through bonuses, which – again – is not the same as raising wages. From USA Today:
“After U.S. corporations got a big tax cut in December, a flurry of announcements touting bonuses and pay raises for hourly employees raised hopes that the cash windfall would keep flowing down to American workers. But the sharing of wealth hasn’t been as generous as hoped.”
“…The number of companies letting workers know they are getting a bonus, raise or other form of financial compensation has slowed to a trickle. Most of the extra cash from tax savings is going into the pockets of stock shareholders through dividend increases and companies buying back their own stock in hopes of boosting its price.”
“A Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysis found that fewer than 45 of the 500 big companies that make up the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index have paid out cash bonuses to their workers in the four months since the new tax law took effect.”
“The amount of money benefiting shareholders has been sizable. In the first three months of 2018, for example, investors received $109.2 billion in dividends, up more than 8% from the $100.9 billion received in the same period a year earlier, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. In fact, the S&P 500's quarterly dividend payments set a new record.”
“Similarly, J.P. Morgan estimates that U.S. companies could buy back as much as $800 billion of their own stock this year, up from $527 billion last year. The sharp rise in share repurchases, according to the bank, is due in large part to the benefits from tax cuts.”
“…The number of companies letting workers know they are getting a bonus, raise or other form of financial compensation has slowed to a trickle. Most of the extra cash from tax savings is going into the pockets of stock shareholders through dividend increases and companies buying back their own stock in hopes of boosting its price.”
“A Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysis found that fewer than 45 of the 500 big companies that make up the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index have paid out cash bonuses to their workers in the four months since the new tax law took effect.”
“The amount of money benefiting shareholders has been sizable. In the first three months of 2018, for example, investors received $109.2 billion in dividends, up more than 8% from the $100.9 billion received in the same period a year earlier, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. In fact, the S&P 500's quarterly dividend payments set a new record.”
“Similarly, J.P. Morgan estimates that U.S. companies could buy back as much as $800 billion of their own stock this year, up from $527 billion last year. The sharp rise in share repurchases, according to the bank, is due in large part to the benefits from tax cuts.”