[20190227]LSB10266_股票回购：背景和改革建议.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Stock Buybacks: Background and Reform Proposals February 27, 2019 In 2018, U.S. corporations announced plans to buyback a record $1.08 trillion of their own stocka trend that has attracted scrutiny and generated a number of legislative proposals designed to curb the practices prevalence. This Legal Sidebar provides a general overview of the regulatory framework surrounding stock buybacks and these recent reform proposals. The Sidebar (1) reviews the debate over the social value of stock buybacks, (2) discusses the regulatory regime surrounding buybacks, and (3) examines a number of proposals to reform this framework that have been proposed in legislation, popular commentary, and the academic literature. The Debate When publicly traded corporations seek to return money to their shareholders, they have two options: (1) pay shareholders a cash dividend, or (2) repurchase shares of their own stock and thereby drive share prices higher. The choice between paying a dividend and repurchasing stock involves a variety of considerations. In theory, corporate managers may pay a dividend instead of