Apple, looking to fund stock buybacks and dividends, is selling $7 billion of bonds even as proposed new tax laws may leave it awash in cash it previously couldn't use.

The iPhone maker  said on Monday it is selling notes in as many as six parts. Apple has been the second-most active U.S. nonfinancial issuer of debt this year behind AT&T, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Apple, didn't return messages seeking comment.

Its bond sale comes shortly after House Republicans unveiled their proposal for overhauling U.S. tax law, which would charge companies up to a 12% tax on the overseas profit they've earned, compared with the 35% they would pay if they brought that money back home now. Companies with high cash holdings overseas, typically in the tech and pharmaceutical industries, may end up with access to billions of extra dollars that they would otherwise have to keep abroad, meaning Apple could be borrowing at a time when it doesn't need more cash.