‘When Democrats threaten to raise taxes if they get back into power they are threatening to raise your utility bill…’

Power lines

(Lionel Parrott, Liberty Headlines) Thanks to GOP tax cuts, Americans in all 50 states are spending less on their utility bills. According to a report from Americans for Tax Reform, at least 133 utility companies across the country have lowered rates for customers.

The lowered rates come in response to the December 2017 tax reform law, passed by the Republican Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.

Americans for Tax Reform says the lowered utility rates are a result of the law’s decrease in the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. The organization says that companies are passing on these savings to their customers.

But these lowered rates could be in peril should Democrats take back control of Congress. That’s because, right now, Democrats are campaigning on repealing the Republican tax cuts, which they say disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

A number of red-state Democrats already voted against the 2017 tax cuts. Had things gone their way, utility companies based in their states would likely not have lowered their rates.

For example, NorthWestern Energy in Montana, home to Sen. Jon Tester, wrote in April that their electric customers would receive direct refunds in the form of “half of the $10.8 million in tax breaks associated with NorthWestern’s electric business.”

And Tampa Electric, based in Sen. Bill Nelson’s state of Florida, announced that they would not raise rates to pay for hurricane restoration costs because of new savings from the tax cut.

And then there’s Consumers Energy, based in Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s state of Michigan, which announced earlier this year that they would lower customer bills by “approximately $200 million, as a result of the recent federal tax reform changes.”

Though perceived as a moderate, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia also voted against the tax cuts. But again, his state’s Appalachian Power Company is among the 133 utility companies passing on the savings to their customers. In May, they announced that they “saved $235 million dollars from the federal tax cuts and the company is proposing passing the money back to its customers in a variety of ways.”

And New Jersey, despite being a blue state, had its utility customers benefit from the Republican tax cuts as well. Atlantic City Electric, based there, announced in April they would provide “$23 million in annual tax savings to its customers.” Sen. Bob Menendez, who has been embroiled in scandal, also voted against the tax cuts.

Despite the savings Americans are enjoying from the tax cuts, Democrats continue to resist changing their policies. Americans for Tax Reform noted in their press release that if Democrats take the House, Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., will serve as the chairman of the House Budget Committee, and he is already plotting to increase the corporate tax rate to 27 percent.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said: “When Democrats threaten to raise taxes if they get back into power they are threatening to raise your utility bill—month after month.”

If that happens, look for a flurry of announcements from utility companies announcing they will be raising rates – and pointing fingers at a Democratic Congress.