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Disney Corrects Press Release To Properly Credit Trump’s Tax Reform

Disney World Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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The Walt Disney Company announced $1,000 bonuses and a $50 million education fund for employees, but at first neglected to mention tax reform as the reason for the $175 million in benefits.

“Yes, it’s because of the tax bill,” Disney spokesman Jacob DiPietre told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The initial press release Tuesday touted the bonuses for 125,000 employees, but didn’t attribute the benefits to President Donald Trump’s tax reform law that reduces corporate tax rates.

The company corrected the press release, DiPietre said, to say that “the two new initiatives are a result of the recently enacted tax reform and represent a total allocation of more than $175 million in this fiscal year.” Originally, the sentence read “the two new initiatives represent a total allocation of more than $175 million in this fiscal year.”

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“I am proud we are directing approximately $125 million to our cast members and employees across the country and making higher education more accessible with the launch of this new program,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the statement. “I have always believed that education is the key to opportunity; it opens doors and creates new possibilities. Matched with the $1,000 cash bonus, these initiatives will have both an immediate and long-term positive impact.”

Numerous companies have announced bonuses, wage increases and employee benefit programs, crediting tax reform for allowing them to pass tax savings along to employees. Verizon also announced Tuesday that it will give employees shares in the publicly traded company.

“We’ve seen the tax bill mentioned directly” in press releases from companies announcing new bonuses, Gary Cohn, the chief White House economic adviser, told reporters Tuesday during a press briefing. “I think there’s a 100 percent correlation” between the increased wages and bonuses, and the tax policy, Cohn said.

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