A stock purchase is a complete purchase of a company, including all the assets and liabilities. Stock purchases thus have different tax outcomes.In a stock sale, the buyer acquires equity from the target company's shareholders. Learn the tax implications for each type of sale. A stock sale is when the owner sells off stock shares. The main difference between asset sales vs. With an asset sale, the buyer is buying the assets of the business. These assets will be identified in the purchase and sale agreement. While stock sales occur between the shareholder (the business owner) and the buyer, asset sales occur between the company itself and the buyer. While an asset sale outshines a stock sale in company structure support, it loses a fair amount of points when it comes to tax implications.