On May 28th, President Bush signed into law the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, which slashed the tax rate on dividends by as much as 62 percent. By lowering the barriers to dividend issuance, companies are continually increasing their dividend payments and/or issuing dividends for the first time. American Shareholders Association (ASA) provides to track the changes in corporate behavior in response to the tax cut.
# Of Companies Raising Dividends in the Last 7 Days
41
# Of Companies Raising Dividends Since Tax Cut (May 28th)
281
# Of Companies Raising Dividends Since January 1st
790
# Of Companies Issuing New Dividends Since Tax Cut (May 28th)
43
Notable Quotes Of The Week:
"For us, the inauguration of dividends is a response to the historic tax reform."
Mandalay Resort Group President Glenn Schaeffer
"The recent equalizing of dividend and capital gains tax rates has made dividend payments a more efficient way to provide value to our stockholders."
Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins