Over the past few days, the overwhelming trend from the Trump Tax continued – corporations continue to use their massive tax cuts to benefit themselves and their shareholders, not their workers.
The maker of Kleenex and Huggies announced 5,500 layoffs and that they will close or sell 10 plants.
USA Today: “The maker of Kleenex tissue and Huggies diapers plans to cut up to 5,500 jobs and close or sell about 10 plants, blaming sluggish sales and a bloated production base. […] The moves come after federal tax reform caused companies to recalculate their tax burdens. Henry said Kimberly-Clark’s overall tax rate would fall to a range of 23% to 26%.”
Bank of America announced they would raise fees on lower-income customers.
Wall Street Journal: “Bank of America Corp. BAC +0.34% has eliminated a free checking account popular with some lower-income customers, requiring them to keep more money at the bank to avoid a monthly fee.”
State legislatures are struggling to respond to potential state tax increases.
Wall Street Journal: “State legislatures across the U.S. will be wrestling in coming months over how to respond to federal income-tax cuts that, paradoxically, could raise tax bills at the state level. […] State lawmakers must choose whether to conform their systems to the new federal rules, cut tax rates to prevent rising tax burdens or spend potential revenue windfalls.”
Meanwhile, shareholders and corporate takeovers are winners – not workers.
Yahoo: “But as the impacts of the corporate tax cut passed late last year by the Trump administration begin to be seen across the economy, it is clear that the shareholder class will be the largest beneficiary of this overhaul to the tax code. This continues a theme we’ve seen since the election — shareholders winning.”
Bloomberg: “Buybacks are nice but the real winner in corporate America’s tax windfall will probably be takeovers, Bank of America Corp. says.”
