Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Rubio’s Stock Buyback Plan Sounds Sane, Even If His Reasoning Is Not

The key to his idea’s success is to make sure it isn’t sullied by fiscal irresponsibility.

February 14, 2019 at 3:47 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

The policy is what counts.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Senator Marco Rubio is planning to introduce a bill soon to curb stock buybacks. The Florida Republican explained on Twitter that the plan would tax buybacks in the “same way as dividends. No tax advantage for buybacks over dividends.”

The senator’s policy is probably sound. But his concern about buybacks is off base.