we may be getting lost in the back and forth here,,,but I think you are pointing out, that if dividends are not paid by the company, the investor can decide upon his own when to take the "dividend", ie:cash out of his investment, but simply selling shares.  and in the US, this receives the lower tax rate of capital gains, on the gain.  and I think that is a correct theoretical view.

Not to complicate this, but just fyi, there is a view among some investors that if managment has to pay a "cash" dividend, they are more accountable.  both in the sense of every quarter paying cash of some amount, and second, there is some gamesmanship that can be played in the world of accounting with income (versus cash--potential chicanery)--but those games tend to go away when it comes to writing someone a check.  these comments get into a somewhat arcane world of accounting, and apologies, though I think you understand them, as they are pretty esoteric.