Yes, I know, and I know it will affect my investing returns.
However, I long ago decided government policy is random, capricious, and irrational. I can't make investing decisions, and company management shouldn't make decisions either, based on guesses about what the government will do.
We could easily get a Republican Congress after this year's elections, and Obama could do what Pres. Clinton did when that happened to him: ditch his ideology, and become a total pragmatist. That would likely mean dividend taxes don't go up. I'm not predicting this (and I don't think it would be a good idea), but it is one possible future, one of many, and I have no idea what will actually happen; neither does anyone else, including Congress itself.
In an ideal world, stock buybacks would work as well as dividends, and would be preferred, if cap gains are taxed less. The problem is, I don't trust most company's management not to play games with the numbers. I especially don't trust QCOM's management on this. That's why I prefer a consistent LT dividend policy. |
