Abstract The article focuses on accounting misconceptions applied to regulated utilities in the United States. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 has sparked debate over several issues with regard to the taxation of, and accounting by, public utilities. For years, consumer interest groups have opposed tax laws that they say allow utilities to record and collect "phantom taxes" from ratepayers. Misconceptions regarding three specific accounting procedures of regulated utilities have been discussed, normalization of deferred taxes, normalization of excess tax reserves, and income reporting for utilities' Allowances for Funds Used During Construction. Some of the issues raised do have merit and deserve to be debated and resolved within the sphere of politics and utility regulation. However, other issues seem to be the result of lack of understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and national tax policy. Utilities face major challenges in coping with the effects of recent changes in tax laws. For the utility industry as a whole, however, these changes will result in lower revenues, over time, as regulators adjust rates for excess tax reserves.
Roberts et al. (Wed,) studied this question.