On the heels of reports that large companies are announcing layoffs and new customer fees just weeks after receiving multi-billion dollar tax breaks thanks to the Republican tax plan, a new poll finds that few Americans have seen any of the financial benefits that GOP leaders promised the overhaul would bring.
In a survey of more than 5,200 people taken by Reuters/Ipsos, just two percent of respondents said they've received an end-of-year bonus, pay raise, or other financial benefit from their company following the plan's passage in December.
The plan was touted as a win for workers, with President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers pushing the narrative that companies saving money on taxes would put the financial windfall toward hiring employees and handing out raises—even as many CEOs flatly said the savings would go to their shareholders.
The poll follows Bank of America's recent announcement that it will begin charging customers for formerly-free online checking accounts, weeks after it saved an estimated $3.5 billion thanks to the plan, and personal care corporation Kimberly-Clark's revelation that it would lay off 5,000 workers, paying for the "restructuring" with tax savings.
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Walmart was praised by the Trump administration for announcing that it would raise its minimum wage from $10 to $11 per hour weeks after the law passed—but quietly moved to shutter more than 60 of its Sam's Club stores and lay off thousands of employees at the same time.
The Reuters poll found that while a combined 50 percent of respondents believe they will pay either the same or more in taxes as a result of the Republican plan, only 24 percent think they will pay less.
In December, during the height of the political battle over what was dubbed by critics as the #GOPTaxScam, a majority of Americans polled by CBS News said they understood the plan was designed to help corporations and the wealthy.
About one-third of those polled said the tax overhaul made them more likely to vote for Democratic candidates in 2018. Only a quarter of respondents said they would vote for a Republican as a result of the plan.
