I found 36 Big US Utility Corps with Total Pretax Income above $1 bil each for the most recent three years. These 36 Big Utility Corps had a total effective US Federal Income Tax Rate Paid of a negative (1.2) % for 2010. And of these 36 Big Utility Corps, 18 of them, or 50%, had a negative US Federal Income Tax Rate Paid in 2010.
In comparison, the 2009 US Federal Income Tax Rate Paid of these 36 Big Utility Corps was a positive 3.4%, still very low.
Suffice it to say that if the US Government thinks that its Big US Utility Corps are helping reduce the US Deficit by paying a lot of US Federal Income Taxes, well…..good luck with that thought!
Here is the relevant 2010 financial information regarding these 36 US Big Utility Corps:
.................................Current US...........................Effective
.................................Fed Inc Tax..Consolidated...Tax Rate
................................Paid(Benefit).........PTI.......Paid(Benefit)
.....................................2010..............2010............2010
........................................(million of $s).....
PacifiCorp......................(498).............777...........(64.1)%
MidAmerican Energy.....(822)...........1,465...........(56.1)%
Edison International......(432)...........1,657...........(26.1)%
Pinnacle West Capital.....(109).............515...........(21.2)%
DTE Energy....................(172).............950...........(18.1)%
NiSource.........................(62)..............436...........(14.2)%
Consolidated Edison......(144)...........1,399...........(10.3)%
SCANA...........................(47)..............534.............(8.8)%
American Electric Pwr..(134)...........1,849.............(7.2)%
EQT................................(25)..............355.............(7.0)%
Constellation Energy(1)..(47)..............702.............(6.7)%
Public Service Enterpr..(166)............2,616.............(6.3)%
PPL................................(51)............1,239.............(4.1)%
CMS Energy....................(21)...............590.............(3.6)%
Progress Energy.............(46)............1,406.............(3.3)%
FirstEnergy....................(23)............1,242.............(1.9)%
PG&E..............................(12)............1,660.............(0.7)%
Duke Energy....................(5)............2,210.............(0.2)%
Nextera Energy................11............2,489...............0.4%
Alliant Energy...................3...............453...............0.7%
Allegheny Energy..............7...............628...............1.1%
Southern Co....................42............3,066...............1.4%
Xcel Energy.....................17............1,189...............1.4%
TECO Energy.....................6...............410...............1.5%
Northeast Utilities.............9...............605...............1.5%
Ameren...........................13...............476...............2.7%
Sempra Energy................27...............786...............3.4%
OGE Energy......................16...............461...............3.5%
CenterPoint Energy..........40..............705...............5.7%
Entergy..........................145............1,888...............7.7%
UGI Corp..........................61...............523.............11.7%
Exelon............................506............4,221.............12.0%
Dominion Resources.......891...........5,037..............17.7%
Wisconsin Energy...........145...............704.............20.6%
NRG Energy....................211...............753.............28.0%
NSTAR Electric...............122...............411.............29.7%
Total 36 Big Utilities......(544)........46,407.............(1.2)%
(1) Constellation Energy 2010 PTI excludes huge Asset Impairment Charge.
My proposal here is that all US Big Utility Corps should pay in US Federal Income Tax each year at least an amount equal to 10% of their Worldwide Pretax Income. That's not too much to ask, particularly in these horrible economic times, not just for US citizens and small businesses, but also for the US Debt Status.
When I run the detailed numbers on these Big Utility Corps, and use a conservative 5% average annual profit growth and 5% annual Federal Income Tax Paid growth from 2010 to 2021, I get additional US Federal Income Tax Receipts over the 10 years from 2012 to 2021 of $82.6 bil.
And if I use a 15% minimum Federal Income Tax Rate, rather than a 10% minimum tax rate, I get positive CBO scoring of $108.7 bil over the 10 years from 2012 to 2021 related to these 36 US Big Utility Corps.
Since such a high percentage of the income of US Big Utility Corps is received in the US, I think I would consider letting them have a portion of their income in each year not subject to a minimum tax, perhaps the first $100 mil.
