Iowa bank gives $1,000 bonus to workers, citing GOP tax bill

Ohnward Bank & Trust gave a $1,000 bonus to all of their workers because of the passage of the GOP tax bill. That includes workers at their Eastern Iowa locations.

They hope people will use that money to invest in the local economy, or give it to a charity. CEO Abram Tubbs says the tax bill will drop their tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and they want to share those savings with their workers.

This is a separate bonus from the normal ones the bank would give based on performances. Tubbs says there was no political motivation behind it.

He explains, “We probably aren't big enough to be on any type of radar to have some type of political benefit from a decision like this. Even if we were, our motivation was purely about giving back."

Tubbs says the tax bill can have maximum benefits if companies invest it in their workers and the community, and they hope other companies do the same.

Ohnward will also use the extra cash to donate more to charity, and they are not ruling out giving raises to their workers.