Pence Continues Lying About Impact of GOP Tax Law As Georgia Faces Tax Hikes, Premium Increases, and Layoffs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, November 1, 2018

PRESS CONTACT:
Ryan Thomas
press@notonepenny.org

Over 9,000 Georgians Laid Off Since Tax Law Passed Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Georgia to stump for Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp. At the event, Pence continued to champion the Trump administration’s disastrous economic agenda, including the Republican tax law that has led to mass layoffs and tax increases across Georgia.

In response, Not One Penny spokesperson Ryan Thomas released the following statement:

“The Republican tax law is nothing more than a scheme to enrich corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else—and Georgians know it. Despite Pence’s pathetic attempts to hide the truth about this tax scam, it could not be more clear that it is threatening the financial security of our families and endangering the social programs that help communities thrive.

“In this election, the choice is between the Republicans who forced this monstrous tax law through Congress or the Democrats who seek to undo the damage it has caused. Georgians must turn their voices into votes and vote against the GOP’s tax law at the ballot box.”

Additional Background on Layoffs:

In Georgia, just since passage of the Republican tax law, 9,150 workers have been notified of mass layoffs and plant closures across the state, including at Coca-Cola, Comcast, and Walmart. Specific layoff numbers from the companies that benefited from the tax law are detailed below:

Coca-Cola announced layoffs of 463 workers in Atlanta between December 31, 2017 and April 30, 2018. Coke had $724 million in tax cuts in the first nine months of 2018 and has spent $1.6 billion buying back its own stock to enrich shareholders.
Communications giant Comcast announced layoffs of 405 workers in February 2018. The company had $1.2 billion in tax cuts in the first nine months of 2018, on top of a 2017 tax benefit of $12.7 billion. Just prior to the passage of the GOP’s tax law, hundreds of Comcast door-to-door salespeople were called into company offices and fired from their jobs just after the telecommunications giant announced it would be giving out $1,000 bonuses to employees thanks to the tax law. Comcast has spent over $4 billion in share buybacks in the first nine months of 2018.
Two Walmarts in Lithonia and Marietta were closed in January and March, leaving 152 workers without jobs. The company seems to be hoarding its tax cuts for its executives rather than sharing them with its workers—after receiving massive tax cuts from the GOP’s law, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon got paid $22.8 million in 2017—or 1,188 times the median employee pay of $19,177. Walmart has spent $1.8 billion on share buybacks so far this year. And hours after the company trumpeted one-time bonuses and modest wage increases in January 2018, it announced that it was immediately closing 63 Sam’s Club stores across the country, eliminating approximately 10,000 jobs.
The health insurance company Anthem laid off 78 workers in Savannah in June. Anthem reported $3.3 billion in income in the first nine months of 2018. It received a 2018 tax break of $247 million, on top of the $1.1 billion it received in 2017, right after the law passed. It has funneled that money back to its shareholders, spending $1.2 billion on stock buybacks so far this year.

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