When Texas Sen. John Cornyn slipped an obscure tax break for pipeline giants into the GOP tax bill, he wasn't just helping major Republican Party donors, he was also potentially helping 16 of his congressional colleagues. Together those 16 lawmakers 13 Republicans, three Democrats own multimillion-dollar stakes in the special investment vehicles that stand to benefit from Cornyns amendment. They include three of members of the Texas Congressional delegation: Sen. Ted Cruz and two top Republicans in the U.S. House.
Cornyns amendment, which was introduced just hours before the Senate passed the tax bill on Dec. 2, provides a tax deduction for investors in energy-related master limited partnerships (MLPs) investment entities primarily used by oil and gas pipeline corporations.
Federal lawmakers collectively own between $4.6 million and $10.6 million worth of energy-related MLPs, according to personal financial disclosures reviewed by International Business Times. Thirteen of the 16 lawmakers who own stakes in energy-related MLPs are Republicans. All 13 of those lawmakers voted for the tax bill in their respective chambers.
The filings detail lawmakers ownership stakes through 2016 and provide dollar ranges, not specific figures, for the value of the legislators' assets.
Cornyn has defended the tax provision a spokesperson for his office told the Huffington Post that Under current law, publicly traded master limited partnerships (MLPS) are taxed as pass-through entities, and this amendment simply preserves that status in the new bill. But that status would be treated even more favorably under both the House and Senate bills, and the lawmakers who own stakes in these MLPs stand to benefit financially. Profits from MLPs would be given a 23 percent deduction in the Senate bill. In the House version, the tax rate on the income from MLPs would be capped at 25 percent far below the typical 39.6 percent rate MLP investors currently pay on that income.
Trump has set the tone for Republican officials, from the White House to the administration to Congress: self-dealing by public officials for personal gain is to be treated as business as usual and, if politically possible, no longer subject to ethics constraints, Public Citizens Craig Holman told IBT after learning of lawmakers personal financial interest in the tax provision. Public officials in the Trump administration and the Republican Congress today have a green light to use their trusted positions to enrich themselves and they are doing so.
Congresss top stakeholders in the MLPs are all Republicans -- they include Michigan Rep. David Trott (up to $4.4 million), New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur (up to $2.3 million), Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue (up to $1.25 million), Texas Rep. Pete Sessions (up to $550,000), Texas Rep. Kenny Marchant (up to $477,000) and Texas Sen. Cruz (up to $300,000). The tax provision could prove particularly lucrative for lawmakers, because their holdings can generate significant annual income as one example, Cruz in 2016 listed more than $11,000 in earnings from his stake in one fossil fuel MLP.
On the whole, the 16 elected officials who own stakes in the MLPs are far wealthier than the average members of Congress they have an average 2015 net worth of over $21 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. MacArthur, whose net worth is estimated at $64.5 million, was the lone member of the New Jersey congressional delegation, which includes five Republicans, to vote for the tax bill.
Cornyn has defended the tax provision a spokesperson for his office told the Huffington Post that Under current law, publicly traded master limited partnerships (MLPS) are taxed as pass-through entities, and this amendment simply preserves that status in the new bill. But that status would be treated even more favorably under both the House and Senate bills, and the lawmakers who own stakes in these MLPs stand to benefit financially. Profits from MLPs would be given a 23 percent deduction in the Senate bill. In the House version, the tax rate on the income from MLPs would be capped at 25 percent far below the typical 39.6 percent rate MLP investors currently pay on that income.
So TLDR, this is basically keeping the same status it currently has but there are now lower rates due to the tax bill itself? ---
