Carried Interest Safe After Sinema Agrees To Altered Inflation Reduction Act

The carried interest loophole, beloved by real estate investors, appears safe after a late-night compromise was struck on the U.S. Senate's climate spending bill.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Thursday night that she had agreed to support the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 after the bill's sponsors, her Democratic colleagues Sens. Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin, agreed to remove a provision that would have closed the loophole and to adjust their proposal for a corporate minimum tax.

Carried interest is how an investment fund pays its decision-makers and is taxed at 23.8%. The Inflation Reduction Act was set to tax that revenue by as much as 37% if a property was held for less than three years. The provision could have generated an additional $14B toward the bill's $740B price tag, according to a summary of the bill published by Senate Democrats.

Manchin and Sinema are both needed for the bill to pass the Senate, where the chamber is split 50-50, as part of the budget reconciliation process. Democrats are pushing to bring the bill to the Senate floor on Saturday, The Washington Post reports.

"We have agreed to remove the carried interest tax provision, protect advanced manufacturing, and boost our clean energy economy in the Senate's budget reconciliation legislation," Sinema said in a statement released Thursday night. "Subject to the Parliamentarian's review, I'll move forward."

The Inflation Reduction Act is seen as President Joe Biden's last hope of passing a major climate change spending package before the midterm elections in November.

The funding would go partly toward deficit reduction, but largely toward $370B in spending on climate and energy programs that could lead to the U.S. reducing emissions by 40% by 2030.

Sinema had voiced her opposition to closing the carried interest loophole in the past, saying it could undermine corporate competitiveness. In her statement, she alluded to reforming that part of the tax code in subsequent legislation.

"Following this effort, I look forward to working with Senator [Mark] Warner to enact carried interest tax reforms, protecting investments in America's economy and encouraging continued growth while closing the most egregious loopholes that some abuse to avoid paying taxes," her statement says.

UPDATE, AUG. 4, 9:50 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Senate Democrats reached a deal to remove the carried interest provision from the Inflation Reduction Act late Thursday.