Harris Corp. joins list of companies using new tax break to benefit employees

Melbourne-based Harris Corp. has joined a growing roster of top companies using the financial benefits of recently passed tax reform to support its employees.

Harris said Tuesday it plans to make added contributions — about $300 million — to its employee pension fund. The company also is awarding all of its non-executive employees $1,470 — $24 million total — in company stock bonuses.

The company estimated the moves will pump about $9 million into the local economy.

Further, the company is investing an incremental $20 million in technologies "to accelerate innovation and affordability initiatives for its customers," according to a company statement.

All three actions are expected to occur within the company’s fiscal 2018.

“We are pleased to share the benefits of our strong performance and the recent tax reform legislation with our employees,” William M. Brown, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

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“This represents an investment in Harris’ greatest asset and differentiator – our talented employees," Brown said. "Coupled with our innovation and technology investment, we are using this opportunity to further strengthen the company and position Harris for future success.”

The Harris announcement follows similar moves by companies such as Apple, FedEx, Home Depot, Walmart and Walt Disney.

Companies sharing their tax benefit with employees have generally been well received, with many calling them welcome. Some critics of the tax overhaul, however, contend the benefits to employees are scant compared to the profits some of the companies earn.

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Overall, the new tax law, which slashed the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, is seen boosting the profitability of large U.S. companies by an additional 8 percent his year, according to Credit Suisse.

As of last Friday, at least 39 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index — comprising 500 of the nation's largest companies — have said they are providing additional financial rewards to workers, citing benefits from the new tax law, according to a USA TODAY analysis of corporate press releases and company statements, as well as other forms of publicly available communications tracked by multiple sources, including Americans for Tax Reform, FactSet and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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The news by Harris, a leading technology and communications company, also follows the Tuesday release of its second-quarter earning, which included a second-quarter profit of $139 million.

On a per-share basis, reported net income of $1.15. Earnings, adjusted for pretax expenses and non-recurring costs, came to $1.67 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.40 per share.

The technology and communications company posted revenue of $1.54 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.48 billion.

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.

(Information from a previous article in USA TODAY was used in this article.)