Ottawa to introduce 2% tax on stock buybacks starting in 2024Government to levy extra tax when companies buy back their own sharesThe federal government wants Canadian companies to spend more of their own money to invest in their businesses and help grow the economy, so it's bringing in a new tax on corporations when they use their profits to do nothing more than pad their bottom lines.In the Fall Economic Statement released Thursday, the government announced it plans to implement a new tax of two per cent on stock buybacks.Exact data on how much Canadian companies have spent on buying up their own shares this year is not readily available, but anecdotal evidence suggests that figure is a gross underestimation of Canada's buyback bonanza.If the actual revenues resulting from the buyback tax don't amount to much, that may be just fine with the government, however, because it likely means companies have chosen to put that cash to work somewhere else.Kim Forrest, founder of Pittsburgh-based money manager Bokeh Capital Partners says such taxes are unlikely to do much to slow down the buyback bonanza because they're not big enough to have much of an impact on spending intentions."