American mega-companies award bonuses after tax cuts to more than 145,000 employees (Details, pics)

Another giant U.S. corporation announced bonuses on Friday that are directly related to a sweeping reform of America's income tax code.

Bank of America said it would cut $1,000 holiday checks to more than 145,000 of its employees – all non-executives who earn less than $150,000 per year.

Goldman Sachs analysts estimated in December that the Republican tax cuts, which include a reduction in the corporate rate from 35 per cent to 21 per cent, would likely boost the earnings of big banks by more than one-eighth in 2018.CEO Brian Moynihan said in a letter to his workforce that 'in the spirit of shared success, we intend to pass some of those benefits along immediately.

'President Donald Trump had already extended his tax-cut victory dance Friday morning, taking credit for a wave of corporate bonus announcements in the wake of his legislative victory on Wednesday.

'Our big and very popular Tax Cut and Reform Bill has taken on an unexpected new source of "love" – that is big companies and corporations showering their workers with bonuses,' the president wrote on Twitter.

Sinclair Broadcast Group said Friday that 'as a result of tax reform legislation, it will pay a $1,000 bonus to almost 9,000 full-time and part-time regular employees at all of its stations and subsidiaries, excluding senior level executives.'

'This is a phenomenon that nobody even thought of, and now it is the rage. Merry Christmas!'AT&T had said Wednesday that it will pay $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 employees once a tax reform bill approved by Congress is signed into law.

Comcast NBC Universal told more than 100,000 workers that they will get $1,000 bonuses to more than 100,000 workers, attributing the move to tax cuts as well as the FCC's decision to repeal 'net neutrality' rules.

And Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, Ohio said it will pay $1,000 bonuses to more than 13,500 employees. The company will also raise the minimum wage for its workforce to $15 per hour.

Texas-based Pinnacle Bank and Texas Capital Bank also followed suit, announcing their own $1,000 bonus plans for full-time employees in the wake of the tax bill becoming law.

'We feel strongly that the message should be loud and clear that this is a tax cut that will benefit all Americans,' said Ronny Korb, Pinnacle Bank's Texas Charter president.

Trump has staked his claim on the idea that the middle class will benefit from tax cuts that focus more dollar-for-dollar savings on companies and the wealthy.

And the stock market has rallied this week based on predictions that significant amounts of tax-cut savings will ultimately go to investors, not workers. The White House insisted Thursday that it didn't coordinate Trump's tax victory event on Wednesday with the companies' bonus announcements.

Boeing also said it would make a '$300 million employee-related and charitable investment as a result of #TaxReform legislation.'

And Wells Fargo made its own $15-per-hour minimum wage pledge, saying it was prompted by the tax plan. The San Francisco-based bank also said it would make $400 million in donations to nonprofit charities and other community organizations in 2018.