Senators Johnny Isakson & David Perdue: Tax Cuts Are Helping Georgians

Sen. David Perdue, Sen. Johnny Isakson

Monday, February 26th, 2018

The tax cuts passed by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by President Donald J. Trump are already having a positive impact across the country. Businesses are investing in our economy again. More than 3 million Americans have received bonuses. Wages are rising at their highest rate in eight years.

Here in Georgia, we are seeing this positive impact firsthand.

In Marietta, Expanded Technologies, Inc., is giving a minimum bonus of $500 to every employee. Lockheed Martin is increasing its employee training initiatives and charitable contributions by $200 million, and the company is contributing an additional $5 billion toward employee pensions.

Carl Black Automotive Group in Kennesaw is giving bonuses to more than 500 employees.

Family-owned and operated Shred-X Corporation in Griffin is purchasing new equipment and hiring a new employee for its 10-person shop. 

In Austell, Yancey Brothers, a heavy construction equipment dealer, is giving $500 bonuses to 1,200 employees.

The Starbucks plant in Augusta is creating 500 new manufacturing jobs and announcing a $120 million expansion as part of an overall increased investment in America that will generate thousands of jobs.

In Columbus, multiple businesses are taking positive action because of these tax cuts and pro-growth changes to the overall tax code.

AFLAC announced it is increasing its overall U.S. investment by $250 million.

Synovus Financial Corporation is giving $1,000 to all non-executive employees. 

Total System Services (TSYS) Payment Solutions is giving $1,000 bonuses to more than 11,000 employees in Georgia and other states.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Home Depot is giving a bonus of up to $1,000 to every hourly employee, including those in its Georgia-based stores.

UPS is also increasing employee pensions for its employees in Georgia and nationwide and expanding its overall investment in the United States by $12 billion.

AT&T and Bellsouth Brands are giving more than 200,000 employees a $1,000 bonus and increasing overall investment in the U.S. by $1 billion.

SunTrust is increasing its base wage to $15 per hour. Additionally, it is raising wages by merit, expanding its overall U.S. investment in community grants by $50 million, and making additional 401(k) contributions.

Mincey Marble in Gainesville is giving bonuses of up to $1,000. Donna Mincey, Mincey Marble CEO, put it this way: “Companies big and small are passing along tax savings to the workers who help build our economy.” She added that these tax cuts are “the kind of meaningful change that can help transform communities by bringing relief to American workers and families.” 

Donna Mincey is exactly right. President Trump ran on changing the direction of our country and making us more competitive with the rest of the world. We are committed to working with him to accomplish this goal, and these tax cuts are a formidable step. 

Last year, we rolled back or halted hundreds of overreaching federal rules and regulations. We began to fully unleash America’s energy potential. These changes, combined with the tax cuts, have launched our country in a new direction toward significant economic growth, investment and wage increases. 

Businesses and workers are experiencing the positive impact of these changes. This growing list above of Georgia companies is strong, indisputable evidence of the momentum they have created. Consumer confidence is at a 17-year high. CEO confidence is at a 20-year high. This innovative economic agenda is working and just getting started.

Here in Georgia, we have been named the best state in which to do business for five consecutive years. That is no small feat given the sluggish overall economic growth of our country for the past eight years. More than a dozen Georgia companies big and small representing a cross-section of industries are now boosting pay and creating jobs due to these new tax cuts that are being passed down to our state, too. We are proud of that, and we look forward to seeing more growth that is on its way.

President Trump’s message to the world in Davos was simple: “America is open for business.” The positive reaction we are seeing from Georgia companies to these tax cuts shows that our country is indeed open for business.

We are excited, pleased and committed to continuing to work with the president and doing all we can in Congress to keep up the momentum.

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson is the senior U.S. senator from Georgia. He is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Senator Perdue is the only Fortune 500 CEO in Congress and is serving his first term in the United States Senate, where he represents Georgia on the Armed Services, Banking, Budget, and Agriculture Committees.