Trump says tax bill is ‘the rage’ in corporate America, but this scorecard shows it’s too early to tell

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

President Donald Trump celebrates with Congressional Republicans after the U.S. Congress passed sweeping tax overhaul legislation on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2017.

It may be too early to tell if a tax bill that just cleared Congress is “the rage” in Corporate America, as President Donald Trump claimed Friday.

In a tweet, Trump said the Tax Cut and Reform Bill — which will slash the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent — “has taken on an unexpected new source of ‘love’ – that is big companies and corporations showering their workers with bonuses.” Trump concluded the tweet saying: “This is a phenomenon that nobody even thought of, and now it is the rage. Merry Christmas!”

But CNBC reached out to more than 80 of the largest S&P 500 companies and found that many say their strategy on the tax cuts is still in the works. Of the 89 companies we contacted, 31 responded to CNBC’s inquiry. Six of those companies, including brands such as Walmart, Intel and Union Pacific, said it was too early to tell whether they would be raising wages or offering bonuses because of the new tax plan. Fourteen declined to comment.

Below is a table of all the companies CNBC contacted in light of the tax bill clearing Congress. It also includes companies that announced plans to raise wages or give bonuses to employees in light of the tax plan passing. This scorecard will be updated as more companies make announcements on the matter.