Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4796 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4796

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the rate of the
    excise tax on the repurchase of corporate stock, and for other
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2026

  Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Warren, Mr. Reed, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following bill;
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the rate of the
    excise tax on the repurchase of corporate stock, and for other
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stock Buyback Accountability Act of
2026''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO TAX ON REPURCHASE OF CORPORATE STOCK.

    (a) Increase in Rate of Tax.--Section 4501(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``1 percent'' and inserting
``4 percent''.
    (b) Modification of Adjustments.--Section 4501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The amount'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The amount'', and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) Exception for stock issued to certain
                persons.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to so much
                of the fair market value of any stock issued or
                provided to--
                            ``(i) an employee who is a covered employee
                        (within the meaning of section 162(m)(3)) or a
                        specified covered employee (within the meaning
                        of section 162(m)(7)(C)), or
                            ``(ii) a person (other than an employee
                        described in clause (i)) who receives
                        remuneration (within the meaning of section
                        162(m)(4)) during any taxable year of the
                        covered corporation beginning after December
                        31, 2025, in excess of $1,000,000 for services
                        performed by such person for such covered
                        corporation or any specified affiliate of such
                        covered corporation.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--
            (1) Rate.--
                    (A) In general.--The amendment made by subsection
                (a) section shall apply to repurchases (within the
                meaning of section 4501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code
                of 1986) of stock after the date of the enactment of
                this Act.
                    (B) Special rule.--For purposes of applying section
                4501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to any taxable
                year which includes the date of the enactment of this
                Act, the amount of the reduction determined under such
                section for such taxable year shall be applied--
                            (i) by reducing stock repurchased on or
                        before such date of enactment in the amount
                        which bears the same ratio to the total amount
                        of the reduction so determined for such taxable
                        year as--
                                    (I) the number of days in the
                                taxable year on or before such date of
                                enactment, bears to
                                    (II) the total number of days in
                                such taxable year, and
                            (ii) by reducing stock repurchased after
                        such date of the enactment by the excess (if
                        any) of the total amount of the reduction so
                        determined for such taxable year over the
                        amount of the reduction determined under clause
                        (i).
            (2) Adjustments.--The amendments made by subsection (b)
        shall apply to stock issued or provided in taxable years ending
        more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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