Actually, dwalker, that's not correct. Dividends are actually paid out of after tax profits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dividend
So yes, the stockholder has seen his profits taxed twice. Once at the corporate level, then again at his level on the dollars left over after tax that were distributed to him/her.From Wiki:
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders.[1] When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business (called retained earnings), or it can be distributed to shareholders.
For the joint stock company, paying dividends is not an expense; rather, it is the division of after tax profits among shareholders.






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