Utility Customers of Jackson, Michigan Utility Co CMS Energy Get Shafted Out of Current Cash Refunds of $1.6 Bil Due To Their Past Utility Bill Overpayments, While Large Corps Are Permitted To Immediately Get Bottom Line Earnings Increases in Their Income Statements For the Very Same Thing: US Federal Income Tax Debt Forgiveness in the Trump Tax Cuts Act ...................................................................................... This Horribly Unfair Result To Utility Customers All Over The US Was Caused By Any Member of the US Congress Who Voted For the "Normalization" of These Past Utility Customer Bill Overpayments Included in the Trump Tax Cuts Act Which Rips Off Utility Customers All Over the US

CMS Energy is the first large Regulated Utility Company to file their 2017 Annual Report 10-K with the US SEC.

Below here are key parts of its income tax footnote dealing with this highly-charged issue, which should make many Utility Customers angry all over the US.

" In December 2017, President Trump signed the TCJA, which changed existing federal tax law and included numerous provisions that affect businesses. Provisions significantly impacting CMS Energy and Consumers include:

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Reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent

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Repeal of the alternative minimum tax along with a provision requiring companies to recover alternative minimum tax credit carryforwards over the next four years

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Limitation on the use of net operating loss carryforwards arising after December 31, 2017 to 80 percent of a company’s taxable income with an indefinite carryforward

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A provision allowing companies to expense 100 percent of the cost of certain property when placed in service

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Limitation on the deduction for net interest expense to 30 percent of adjusted taxable income

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A requirement to use a normalization method of accounting for excess tax reserves associated with public utility property

Substantially all of the tax law changes enacted by the TCJA are effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Under GAAP (ASC 740), however, companies must recognize the effects of a tax law change in the period of enactment. 


Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax effect of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets or liabilities and the reported amounts on CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ consolidated financial statements. At December 31, 2017, CMS Energy and Consumers remeasured their deferred tax assets and liabilities and related valuation allowances using the 21 percent federal tax rate enacted in the TCJA. To reflect the lower corporate tax rate, Consumers reduced its net deferred tax liabilities associated with its utility book-tax temporary differences by $1.6 billion. Of this amount, Consumers recognized deferred tax expense of $33 million related to non-recoverable net deferred tax assets, with the remaining amount being recorded as a net regulatory tax liability. "