Sulja Bros. Building Supplies, Ltd (SLJB)

[eelfland]

There is one form of short selling that I think is OK, and that is shorting "against the box." That is, you own the shares, but do not want to sell them, for one reason or another, usually to avoid a tax gain. In that case, your broker will allow you to short sell against that position, and if you profit on your short sale and subsequent covering, only that profit is taxable. I see no problem with that, but don't see any real economic benefit that comes from other forms of short selling.