But there's no point paying dividends to shareholders who aren't demanding them. Why would a company 'throw away' surplus cash to passive uncomplaining shareho

But there's no point paying dividends to shareholders who aren't demanding them. Why would a company 'throw away' surplus cash to passive uncomplaining shareholders instead of intercepting it upstream and ploughing it back into tax-reducing activities? Like burning cash on R&D that provides opportunities for pivoting in the future. Now that is prudent and sound. Eventually shareholders might gain enough voting power to demand dividends but there's no point in piling-up taxable cash until that happens.