John,

Our groundbreaking new report reveals an outrageous truth: Over a recent five year period, big corporations spent seven times more enriching wealthy shareholders than they paid in federal income taxes.[1]

We looked at 280 of the largest U.S. corporations that raked in over $4.4 trillion in profits from 2018 to 2022. Shockingly, 97% of them spent more on stock buybacks and dividend payments to CEOs and other wealthy shareholders during those five years than they contributed in federal income taxes.

All told, these corporations shelled out an eye-popping $2.7 trillion on stock buybacks alone―over 4 times more than they paid in income taxes over the same period. Buybacks push up the value of stock that remains in investor hands.

It's time to put an end to this rigged system. The Stock Buyback Accountability Act, introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden and proposed by President Biden in his State of the Union address, would increase the tax on stock buybacks from 1% to 4%, generating $20 billion annually that can be used to lower costs for working families, while finally putting the brakes on corporations' favorite method of shoveling profits to the ultra-wealthy.[2]

We're using our research and activism to demand Congress take action and hold large, profitable, tax-dodging corporations accountable once and for all. But we can't do it without you. Your grassroots support is what powers our work to expose corporate greed and fight for a fair tax system.

That's why we're asking: Will you chip in $5 or more today to help us ramp up the pressure on Congress to pass the Stock Buyback Accountability Act and make greedy corporations pay their fair share?

So, what's driving this egregious behavior that enriches wealthy shareholders at the expense of everyone else? Look no further than the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law. That disastrous bill slashed corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, handing massive corporations a windfall that they promptly funneled into stock buybacks instead of investing in their workers or communities.

In fact, by the end of the five-year period we examined, stock buybacks had nearly doubled compared to the pre-Trump-tax-law days.

That’s why Congress took a step in the right direction in 2022 by enacting President Biden’s proposed 1% tax on stock buybacks, aiming to curb this harmful practice. The new tax raised $3.5 billion in the first six months of 2022 alone.[3] But the hard truth is that this 1% tax barely made a dent in corporate America's buyback addiction.

With over half of all corporate stock held by the wealthiest 1% of Americans, every time a company buys back billions in stock—using profits they’ve price-gouged from American families—it's a massive wealth transfer from the working class to the rich.[4] We must bring an end to this exploitative practice by raising taxes on big corporations and their wealthy owners—starting with a tougher stock buyback tax.

With your support, we're mobilizing our national grassroots movement to demand Congress make these corporations pay their fair share. Chip in $5 or more now to help us hold corporate tax dodgers accountable.

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Together, we're fighting to unrig the tax code and build an economy that works for all of us.

Thank you,

David Kass
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] Engine of Inequality: A Flood of Corporate Profits Is Enriching Wealthy Shareholders Through Stock Buybacks and Dividends, At The Expense of Workers and The Public
[2] BROWN, WYDEN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO INCREASE TAX ON STOCK BUYBACKS
[3] New U.S. Buyback Tax Hits Companies With $3.5 Billion Burden
[4] The richest 1 percent own a greater share of the stock market