Cisco, Pfizer, Coca-Cola plan to turn gains from tax cuts to shareholders

[Brubear]

Here's some concrete proof that trickle-down economics won't work. On top of all of those CEOs admitting that they wouldn't reinvest into their companies to Gary Cohn, here are a bunch of major corporations saying that any savings from the proposed tax cuts will go towards shareholders. This destroys any argument in favor of the proposed tax change.

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/36...ed-tax-cuts-to

A string of corporate giants have said that they would give back to shareholders any gains they make from corporate tax cuts proposed in the GOP's tax plan, Bloomberg News reported, undercutting Republican claims that the revenues will quickly trickle down to workers.

The comments from company executives — including those at Cisco Systems Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. — come after the White House released a paper last month arguing that a corporate tax cut would boost wages.

The chief executive of Amgen Inc. said in an October call that the company is "actively returning capital in the form of growing dividend and buyback."

"And I'd expect us to continue," Robert Bradway said in the call.

These comments were echoed by executives including Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, Pfizer Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Frank D’Amelio and Cisco CFO Kelly Kramer, according to Bloomberg.

Kramer said this month that after the tax cut, the company will "be able to get much more aggressive on the share buyback."

Senate Republicans were expected to cast a key procedural vote early Wednesday afternoon to begin debate on tax reform, but the timing has slipped some as lawmakers are scrambling to make last-minute adjustments.

Earlier this month, chief White House economic adviser Gary Cohn appeared surprised at an event after few CEOs said they planned to invest more if the GOP's tax plan is passed.

"If the tax-reform bill goes through, do you plan to increase investment — your company's investment, capital investment?" an editor asked during an event for The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council.

People were asked to raise their hand.

When few hands were raised, Cohn asked: "Why aren't the other hands up?"

Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said on a call last month the main reason why cutting the corporate tax rate would boost wages is because doing so would make it less expensive for companies to invest in capital assets such as machines.
“More assets like machines let workers produce more, and when workers can produce more, businesses can afford to pay their workers more,” he said last month.

[RazingCain]

"We" all knew this tax plan was just a way to give money from the lower and middle class to the rich. At this point I don't know what else would convince people besides a mustache twirling man in a dark suit saying as much.

[Heladys]

Yeah, but the shareholders will, uh, create jobs or something. Right?

[Kujako]

Better than what a lot of corporations will do, which is to buy back stock to consolidate control of the company.

[Wyrt]

Are you saying trickle down economics is bullshit? To the surprise of absolutely no one who has a functioning brain.

[Bryntrollian]

This is good for the economy, obviously...

[Gestopft]

Oh, so companies won't hire more people in response to a non-increase in demand? Color me shocked!

[Paranoid Android]

You can re-title this. EVERY multi-national corporation with give tax cuts to shareholders.

[Kujako]

You can re-title this. EVERY multi-national corporation with give tax cuts to shareholders.

Apple wont. They don't really do the money sharing thing...

[Travis B]

This is clearly fake news. Ted Cruz said yesterday that corporations will pass on the money they save from tax cuts to their employees and customers out of the goodness of their hearts.

[Belize]

B-b-b-but muh trickle down economics! I thought Middle-America was supposed to benefit!

[Stormspark]

"It works! I'm being trickled down on! Oh wait, that's not money..."

[Xeones]

Trickle down economics is never going to work.

Raising taxes on the middle class and giving cuts to the richest is never going to drive the economy.

Businesses don't make jobs when they are sitting on money, they make jobs when they have demand. You get demand when people actually have fucking money.

[Stormspark]

Trickle down economics is never going to work.

Raising taxes on the middle class and giving cuts to the richest is never going to drive the economy.

Businesses don't make jobs when they are sitting on money, they make jobs when they have demand. You get demand when people actually have fucking money.

Everyone knows that. Even the people putting out the rhetoric about it know that. "Trickle down economics" doesn't actually exist, and is just an excuse to funnel moeny to the rich.

[Edge-]

In a shock to literally nobody with a brain.

Again, it's not like we literally just have to look back a few years to Kansas tax overhaul, which hit a lot of the same stupid trickle-down notes as this, and how it completely crippled the state economy to the point that they had to override the governors veto to raise taxes back up to fix their collapsing budget.

[UnkLegacy]

We have the lowest unemployment in 17 years. Why do we need a "job creating bill"? We don't need jobs, we need better wages.

[Edge-]

We have the lowest unemployment in 17 years. Why do we need a "job creating bill"? We don't need jobs, we need better wages.

We need to "prime the pump" on the economy because it's going nowhere! Trump invented that phrase, did you know? "Prime the pump", he just came up with it! We have unemployment that could be as high as 10%, 20%, 30%, maybe as high as 40% or even 50%! We just have no way of knowing!

[Cthulhu 2020]

Big companies get more money from tax cuts. They put it towards shareholders and offshore bank accounts and don't actually make any jobs with it.

In other news, water is wet.

[Brubear]

Better than what a lot of corporations will do, which is to buy back stock to consolidate control of the company.

From the article.

Kramer said this month that after the tax cut, the company will "be able to get much more aggressive on the share buyback."

[melodramocracy]

Numerous republicans seem completely convinced that tax cuts create jobs.

You really can't do anything other than point and laugh, but then you realize how many idiots are nodding in agreement with them.