Nelnet pays it forward after tax break

Under the new GOP tax plan, large corporations are getting a tax cut.

Dr. Eric Thompson, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Nebraska, said the new tax plan benefits not only corporations, but the majority of people.

"The increased after-tax profits in large corporations may allow them to lower prices, may allow them to reinvest that money in some cases and perhaps allow them to raise wages," Thompson said.

Companies like Nelnet, which specializes in student loans, are seeing their taxes go from 35 percent to 21 percent.

CEO Jeff Noordhoek said he wanted to share his tax break by giving his 4,000 employees a $1,000 bonus before the holidays.

"It seemed about to be the right thing for a one time bonus given the amount of the tax savings for the company," said Noordhoek.

That $4 million will be just a chunk of what he's expected to save.

"We will now invest that in new businesses, new ideas, new products, new services and our people. I think that will have a massive stimulus effect on our economy," he said.

Noordhoek said the bonus was a one-time thing, and how the company performs under the new tax plan will determine if he chooses to do it again.

The corporate tax cut doesn't have an expiration date, but individual cuts expire in 10 years.

It's expected to add $1.5 trillion to the national debt.