I have had a good 10 maybe 12 people come into do their taxes that have received what is being called "Trump Bonuses" (Their words, not mine) from as little as $100 to one guy that got more than $32,000.00. Yep, manager at a Metals Finishing plant. Said work has been just crazy for the last year. (He already made $16,000 more in 2017 than 2016, because of overtime and a raise). His department went from 6-7 people to 20 in this last year and they still have more work then they can handle. He got the $32,000 check they day he came in to do his taxes. (They gave out the W-2's and bonus checks the same day (well night, as he works night shift.)
Quite a few others are talking about how they got raises after the first of the year. Something that has not happened to them in 3, 4, 5 or more years. Even those that work at what could be called "Mom & Pop" stores.
Everyone, though is reporting that their job/work is "Busy or Busier".
We also go over tax planning for 2018 given the changes. I cover how there take home will go up given the reduced rates. So they got a raise and not will get even more money in their paychecks. Most people are surprised to see that their taxes will go down (and many cases significantly) with standard exemption change. Many are still (just) under $10,000 in SALT, so there's no impact there. The only people bitching are......
My boss, the owner. He recently bought a larger house, he has 4 kids, so he's taking a big hit with his SALT capped at $10,000, and the loss of exemptions. He MF's Donald Trump at just about every turn. The fun ones are the foaming-at-the-mouth lefties, showing them how their pay goes and tax burden goes down and watching their heads explode. I have pointed out to them, that they are free to write checks to the US Treasury if they still want to pay at the older pre-Trump rates.
Meanwhile, most of the rest of our customers say either "I'm so glad I voted for him." or "I wish I would have voted him." This being suburban Cook county, it is somewhat Republican leaning.
And the best part of all of this, I do this as a completely neutral "Here's how Tax Reform will affect you and your situation. We don't have the finalized rules but we do know this..."
