# Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023

This bill puts a new tax on large corporations when they buy back their own stock. Here's what that means in plain terms: when a company uses its profits to repurchase shares of its own stock from investors, it would now have to pay a 4% tax on the value of those buybacks.

Stock buybacks happen when a company decides to use its cash to purchase its own shares from the open market. Companies do this for various reasons—sometimes to boost the stock price, sometimes to return value to remaining shareholders, or sometimes because executives believe the stock is undervalued. Right now, there's no federal tax penalty for doing this. This bill changes that by imposing a tax whenever a publicly traded company engages in a buyback.

The practical effect is that buybacks would become more expensive for corporations, which could discourage the practice. Supporters argue this would encourage companies to invest that money in other ways—like raising worker wages, funding research and development, or building new facilities—rather than just enriching shareholders. Critics worry it might discourage investment or be passed along to consumers through higher prices. For average people, the impact would likely be indirect: it could affect your retirement accounts if you own mutual funds or index funds containing these stocks, and it might influence how much companies invest in growth versus returning cash to shareholders.

Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023

Brown, Sherrod

Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023 This bill increases from 1% to 4% the rate of the excise tax on the repurchase of corporate stock.