Big Business Is Cashing In On Trump’s Tax Cuts

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was sold to the American public as a boon for working families and a catalyst for economic growth. At the time, President Trump and his allies in Congress promised that slashing the corporate tax rate by nearly 50% would lead to more jobs, higher wages, and a wave of investment in American innovation and infrastructure.

Now, Trump is back in office, and Congressional Republicans’ first order of business is working overtime to extend the Trump tax cuts and, in the words of House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, “deliver on President Trump’s promises to the American people.”

But eight years later, it’s clear how empty those promises have been. The TCJA supercharged corporate profits while delivering little for working families. Instead of reinvesting their windfalls, corporations have lined the pockets of their shareholders, fueling record-breaking profits and exacerbating inequality.

An April 2025 report from Groundwork Collaborative examined corporate pricing and profits since the enactment of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Our analysis confirms what many economists and workers have long suspected: the TCJA supercharged corporate profits and companies took the gains straight to their shareholders, while doing little to benefit the broader economy.

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The data tells a stark story. After the TCJA slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, corporate profits exploded. But rather than using these gains to hire more workers or raise wages, companies funneled the bulk of their windfall into stock buybacks and dividend payouts that line the pockets of their wealthy shareholders and boost their earnings reports. Between 2018 and 2022, S&P 500 companies alone spent over $6.4 trillion on buybacks and dividends, dwarfing investments in labor, infrastructure, or research.

Take PepsiCo. Despite consistent public messaging about rising production costs forcing price hikes, the company expanded its bottom line, reporting a 19% growth in profits between 2021 and 2023. To do so, the company raised prices by double-digit percentages for eight straight quarters, passing costs—and then some—directly to consumers and laying off hundreds of workers. Meanwhile, it funneled $21 billion into the pockets of its wealthy investors.

Comcast followed a similar script. It shelled out over $43 billion in shareholder returns between 2021 and 2023, even as it repeatedly raised broadband and cable prices. During that same period, the company cut 3,000 jobs. These decisions enriched shareholders but made services more expensive and jobs more precarious for working families.

UnitedHealth, meanwhile, boosted its profits by 12% to more than $22 billion in 2023 and rewarded shareholders with nearly $15 billion in stock buybacks and dividends. Rather than lowering costs for patients, UnitedHealth invested in AI-powered technology that saves the company money by increasing denials of coverage by 800%.

These aren’t isolated incidents. Across industries, companies are choosing to make their wealthy investors wealthier instead of building up productive capacity, training workers, or developing new technologies. These tactics boost share prices and executive compensation, but they do nothing to address supply chain constraints or invest in the kind of innovation that holds down costs over the long run.

This behavior isn’t just disappointing; it’s economically destructive. When companies choose to enrich shareholders instead of investing in their people and products, they stifle long-term growth and deepen economic inequality. Stock buybacks might be celebrated on Wall Street, but they do nothing to improve productivity, expand capacity, or support the hardworking Americans who make corporate success possible in the first place.

Congress could take action to disincentivize this kind of corporate negligence. The Inflation Reduction Act imposed a new 1% tax on stock buybacks; increasing it would discourage companies from funneling profits to their wealthy shareholders and reward businesses that invest in people and productivity, not just payouts.

Instead, Republican lawmakers are pushing to double down on the failed promises of the TCJA. That would be a historic mistake. We’ve already seen what happens when corporations are handed a massive tax break with no strings attached—they exploit it. Extending the Trump tax cuts would only entrench the status quo: inflated prices, stagnant wages, gutted public services, and windfall gains for the ultra-wealthy.

Corporate America has had nearly a decade to prove that lower taxes lead to shared prosperity. The evidence is in, and it’s clear: They haven’t held up their end of the bargain. It’s time for a tax code that puts working families first and ensures that the most profitable corporations pay their fair share.