# Can the president make stock buybacks illegal

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-make-stock-buybacks-illegal/944376>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [June 16, 2021, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-make-stock-buybacks-illegal/944376 "2021-06-16T06:07:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-make-stock-buybacks-illegal/944376/21 "2021-06-18T19:24:25Z")

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> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> > [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
> >
> > Making them illegal again could cause companies to redirect their profits into things like investment in their workers or investments in or their company.
> 
> Stock buybacks are just a more efficient dividend. I find it extremely unlikely that they would invest in workers or in the company – if they had to do that, they wouldn’t have done the buybacks. Eliminating buybacks would just lead to more companies paying dividends, in my opinion.

even if so, if it collects more taxes from the well off that’s still a good policy.

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**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-make-stock-buybacks-illegal/944376/22 "2021-06-19T00:23:33Z")

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If we want to tax the wealthy more, then let’s just tax the wealthy more.

Stock buybacks do result in capital gains taxes because it’s literally those same wealthy people selling their shares back to the company, generally at a profit. Additionally, a company buying back stock leads to upwards pressure on the stock, causing more shareholders to sell at higher prices, hence higher taxes.

The difference is that the shareholders can decide when to sell. This is important because we want the capital markets to be inviting to new capital. We’d much rather the wealthy deploy their capital into the economy, and not hold it in their bank accounts.

Who we tax, how we tax, and how much we tax are all separate arguments. I’m generally in favor of higher taxes for the wealthy, as they should contribute more to the society that already existed that allowed them to get rich. But we should not artificially make the capital markets less efficient by restricting how capital is distributed. And we should not force company management to reinvest in a company if it is not an efficient use of the capital.

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**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-make-stock-buybacks-illegal/944376/23 "2021-06-19T00:52:33Z")

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> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> Stock buybacks were illegal from 1934 until they were legalized again in 1982

Can you provide a link to backup that statement?

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