Citing GOP tax reform, Springfield bank to pay bonuses to all employees

A Springfield-based banking company plans to give one-time bonuses to more than 1,200 employees following the federal tax overhaul recently approved by Republicans in Washington, D.C.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc., says it will pay $1,000 in cash to all full-time employees and $500 to part-time workers who were employed by the bank on Dec. 31.

In a news release, Great Southern specifically cited the federal tax reform legislation that Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law in December.

"The recently passed tax reform package should have positive implications for the U. S. economy, which we expect will benefit the banking industry, including Great Southern," said Joseph W. Turner, president and CEO, in a statement. "We are pleased to take advantage of the unique opportunity presented by the tax reform legislation by rewarding our associates with this special bonus. Our associates work hard every day to build winning relationships with our customers and communities and this bonus underscores our appreciation for their commitment to Great Southern."

The tax overhaul includes a permanent cut to the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and temporary cuts to individual income taxes until 2025. Great Southern is continuing to study the effects of the tax revisions and plans to divulge its assessment prior to its quarterly earnings report later in January, according to the release.

Great Southern has its headquarters in Springfield and operates in nine states. It is the latest in a string of companies to announce one-time bonuses on the heels of the Republican tax overhaul. U.S. Bank, Commerce Bank and AT&T also have announced $1,000 bonuses for employees recently. U.S. Bank and other companies have announced they would increase their minimum hourly wages to $15 as a result of the new tax law.

Springfield's congressional representatives voted along party lines in their respective houses. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt and Rep. Billy Long supported the bill, while Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill opposed it.

"Great Southern Bank’s announcement is further proof that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is providing immediate benefits for hardworking families and fueling confidence in our country’s economic future," Blunt said in a statement. "On top of this bonus, the new tax code will allow Missouri employees to keep more of their hard-earned money instead of sending it to the IRS. Providing tax relief and expanding opportunity for hardworking Missourians has always been our main focus in this process, and I’m glad we could get it done." 

Long said he had not heard about Great Southern until he was contacted by the News-Leader, "but we’re hearing stories like this from all over the country."

"It will be very good for the Ozarks," Long said. "All I know is that I can’t pump gas, go to a movie or eat in a restaurant without people coming up and thanking me for my hard work on their tax cut."

A Great Southern spokesman said the banking company employs 637 people in the Springfield metropolitan area (including Nixa, Ozark and Willard) and 894 in Missouri. 

A spokeswoman for McCaskill said the Missouri Democrat would not comment on Great Southern's bonuses and referred the News-Leader to a November statement she made.

"What I said to President Trump when we sat down together is still true today—I’m eager to support real, bipartisan tax reform," McCaskill said, in part. "I’d jump at the chance to support a plan to deliver relief to Missouri’s working families, simplify the tax code, close loopholes exploited by the rich, and lower the corporate tax rate. Unfortunately, this tax plan doesn’t live up the commitment I got from President Trump, when he told me he wouldn’t support tax reform that benefited the very rich at the expense of the little guy."