[20200416]IF11506_股票回购与公司高管利润.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov April 16, 2020Stock Buybacks and Company Executives ProfitsA stock buyback occurs when a publicly traded firm repurchases some of its shares from investors with excess cash or borrowed funds. In recent years, the annual aggregate value of such repurchases has risen to historical highs, reaching nearly $1 trillion as firms, such as Apple, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, IBM, Visa, Citigroup, Cisco, Pfizer, Oracle, and Bank of America, have conducted billion-dollar-plus stock repurchases. As aggregate buyback levels have soared, general scrutiny of them has intensified. The scrutiny also appears to have heightened after the 2017 tax revision (P.L. 115-97) was enacted. This tax legislation resulted in overall corporate tax cuts that increased surplus corporate cash, which in turn led to significant increases in buybacks at various firms. Legislation related to buybacks has been introduced in the 116th Congress. S. 915 and H.R. 3355 would prohibit a firm from conducting a buyback. S. 2391 would ban buybacks unless they were accompanied by new buyback disclosure reforms. S. 2514 and H.R. 4419 would levy a tax on companies that did not distribute a worker “dividen