It’s not new, buybacks have been increasing for decades. A bonus 1% tax on buybacks was recently added by the Inflation Reduction Act, and Biden has called for

It’s not new, buybacks have been increasing for decades. A bonus 1% tax on buybacks was recently added by the Inflation Reduction Act, and Biden has called for that to be increased to 4%. If the tax is high enough, more companies will go back to paying dividends.