Tax deferral and timing-optimized selling means less revenue for the politicians, which is why leftists and their media lapdogs are so vocally attacking stock buybacks & unrealized gains. Buybacks help keep cash deployed in the private sector, rather than be wasted by government. In other words, capital is better deployed to sustain & grow the economy rather than have it flushed on useless wars, campaign contributor kickbacks, inefficient bureaucracies, and other wasteful spending we see year in and year out.