TransCanada says no material change expected from U.S. pipeline tax change

CALGARY – TransCanada Corp. says a recent U.S. tax ruling that eliminated a tax break for owners of certain interstate pipelines will have no material impact on its operations.

Shares in TransCanada had come under pressure following the decision.

The statement by the company follows a similar comment by Enbridge Inc. last week that said it did not expect a material change due to the ruling.

The decision by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to no longer allow master limited partnerships to recover an income tax allowance from cost of service tariffs came in response to a 2016 court ruling that found its long-standing tax policy could result in double recovery of costs.

TransCanada says about half of its U.S. natural gas pipelines 2018 revenues come from negotiated or discounted tariffs and therefore would not be materially impacted by the regulator’s actions.

It says that percentage is expected to increase to about 65 per cent in 2019.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP, TSX:ENB)