| **Income Taxes**            | 3 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           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| **Income Taxes [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              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| Income Taxes                | Note 16 – Income Taxes 

 

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company’s Federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforward decreased by $142.  In addition, during the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company’s state NOL carryforward increased by $19,623.  As of March 31, 2019, the balance of the Company’s Federal NOL was $10,693.  The Company believes its Federal NOL carryforward is more likely than not to be recovered and requires no valuation allowance.  As of March 31, 2019, the balance of the Company’s gross state NOL was $669,909, a portion of which is offset by a valuation allowance because the Company does not believe the state NOLs are more likely than not to be realized.  The Company’s Federal and state NOL carryforwards begin to expire in 2032 and 2023, respectively.  The Company’s Federal and state NOL carryforwards are reduced by an unrecognized tax position, on a gross basis, of $69,189 and $85,737, respectively.  The amounts of the Company’s Federal and state NOL carryforwards prior to being reduced by the unrecognized tax positions were $79,882 and $755,646 respectively.  The Company records its unrecognized tax benefit as a reduction to its deferred income tax liability.  

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As of March 31, 2019, the total gross unrecognized tax benefit was $17,746.  As a result of the regulatory treatment afforded for qualifying infrastructure improvements in Pennsylvania, $27,506, if recognized, would affect the Company’s effective tax rate.  At December 31, 2018, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits of $17,792.  

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Accounting rules for uncertain tax positions specify that tax positions for which the timing of resolution is uncertain should be classified as long-term liabilities.  Judgment is required in evaluating the Company’s uncertain tax positions and determining the provision for income taxes.  Management believes that an adequate provision has been made for any adjustments that may result from tax examinations.  Although the timing of income tax audit resolutions and negotiations with taxing authorities is highly uncertain, the Company does not anticipate a significant change to the total amount of unrecognized income tax benefits within the next 12 months.

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As of December 31, 2017, the Company had provisionally estimated that $175,108 of deferred income tax liabilities for our Pennsylvania subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, will be a regulatory liability as a result of the accounting effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts (the “TCJA”).  In May 2018, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (“PA PUC”) issued an order that set forth the requirements for utilities to either immediately initiate the refund or otherwise address the impacts of the TCJA in the utilities’ next rate case.  Aqua Pennsylvania was included in the rate filing group of utilities as the Company filed a base rate case in August 2018, during which it expected the PA PUC to address the effects of the TCJA within the base rate case filing.  Additionally, the PA PUC has ordered that all rates charged by utilities, including those billed by Aqua Pennsylvania since January 1, 2018, are temporary and subject to refund pending the outcome of its review of the effects of the TCJA within the next base rate case.  In February 2019, Aqua Pennsylvania filed a settlement for this base rate case, and on March 11, 2019, the administrative law judges issued a recommended decision approving the settlement on March 11, 2019.  The Company is awaiting a final order from the PA PUC.  There has been no material change in the Company’s estimate of its regulatory liability.  Overall, the Company has applied a reasonable interpretation of the impact of the TCJA and a reasonable estimate of the regulatory resolution.  Further clarification of the TCJA and regulatory resolution may change the amounts estimated of the deferred income tax provision and the accumulated deferred income tax liability.       

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The Company’s regulated operations accounting for income taxes are impacted by the FASB’s accounting guidance for regulated operations.  Reductions in accumulated deferred income tax balances due to the reduction in the Federal corporate income tax rates to 21% under the provisions of the TCJA will result in amounts previously collected from utility customers for these deferred taxes to be refundable to such customers, generally through reductions in future rates.  The TCJA includes provisions that stipulate how these excess deferred taxes related to certain accelerated tax depreciation deduction benefits are to be passed back to customers.  Our state regulatory commissions have or are in the process of issuing procedural orders directing how the tax law changes are to be reflected in our utility customer rates.  

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| - References
No definition available.
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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.
+ References
Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2144680
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