1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov December 19, 2019Stock Buybacks: Concerns over Debt-Financing and Long-Term Investing A 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 su
2、ch 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 o
3、f them has intensified. Legislation related to buybacks has also been introduced in 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 com
4、panies that did not distribute a worker “dividend” from their profits. The dividends size could be based on the size of the companys recent stock buyback. As part of broad private equity fund reform, S. 2155 and H.R. 3848 would prohibit buybacks by firms in which a private equity fund has acquired a
