Raises, bonuses flow at beverage firm

Employees at Lakewood Ranch-based Gold Coast Eagle Distributing are already seeing the effects of federal tax reform.

John Saputo, owner of the Anheuser-Busch distributor, says his warehouse employees received a $1 an hour raise as a direct result of the savings his company will get from the corporate rate deduction. In dollars, that means employees will go from making $9 to $12 an hour to $10 to $13 an hour. Saputo is also working on a raise for delivery drivers that will equal $1 an hour or more.

Also, commissioned employees at Gold Coast Eagle have a new incentive in place to make an extra $100 to $1,000 a month if they meet certain sales and distribution goals. It's another positive change at the company that stems from the tax plan, Saputo says.