Today, the NYTimes has an article about how utility companies will see their federal tax bill reduced by massive amounts. As a result, the newspaper asks: "will your bill reflect it?":
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/business/economy/tax-cut-power.html
"Economists at the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania estimated that the new law will reduce the industry’s federal tax bill by $1 billion this year, compared with what it would have been if the law had not passed. In 2021, the savings would grow to $5 billion. The Penn economists projected that the law will yield a reduction of about 0.5 percent in electricity prices.
Economists have long debated how corporate tax cuts are distributed among shareholders, workers and customers. President Trump and other backers of the tax bill have argued that it will lead to higher wages, more jobs and greater investment. Independent analysts, however, have tended to assume that most of the gains will go to shareholders, especially in the short term.
For utilities and other regulated industries, however, the situation is different. They are granted a legal monopoly, but in return are expected to see that their customers benefit from any savings."
Because of their "legal monopoly", I think utility companies will always "win". But now, after the Trump tax cut, their profits will likely soar. According to the article below; no one is really sure how much exactly, but the utility companies will save so much money, the figure "is sure to reach several billions of dollars":
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article193817599.html
"One challenge is the complexity of the 503-page tax bill that President Trump signed into law on Dec. 22. The law reduces the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent but also includes numerous other provisions that affect utilities, including tax credits that the industry lobbied heavily to retain.
No one knows how much savings the new law will produce for utilities, but the figure is sure to reach several billions of dollars."
Here in Phoenix, I don't need to tell you, the electricity bill during the summer is unbelievably high. & it keeps rising every year. But things look promising. There are already reports Arizona's largest utility (APS) "wants to cut customer bills":
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2018-01-09/tax-overhaul-leads-biggest-arizona-utility-to-seek-rate-cut
"PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's largest utility wants to cut customer bills because of lower corporate rates in the tax overhaul law approved by Congress in December.
Arizona Public Service Co. announced Tuesday it wants regulators to allow it to cut bills by $119 million a year effective Feb. 1. The cut would be more than the $95 million revenue increase APS was awarded in August."
Now we just have to wait & see what kind of savings we all get. Anything will help, although if it's a really small amount, it's unlikely to make a significant difference to those of us with any type of debt: be it credit card, medical, student-loan, etc.
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