XML 67 R56.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v2.4.0.6

Income Taxes (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2011
Income Taxes Tables [Abstract] |
Income Tax Expense On Continuing Operations |
|  |  | December 31,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2009
|  |  | (in millions)
| Federal: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Current |  | $ | - |  | $ | (8) |  | $ | 3
| Deferred |  |  | (146) |  |  | (121) |  |  | (164)
| State: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Current |  |  | 1 |  |  | 1 |  |  | -
| Deferred |  |  | 2 |  |  | (19) |  |  | (10)
| Foreign: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Current |  |  | 852 |  |  | 678 |  |  | 527
| Deferred |  |  | (73) |  |  | 48 |  |  | 201
| Total |  | $ | 636 |  | $ | 579 |  | $ | 557
Reconciliation Of US Federal Income Tax Rates And AES Effective Tax Rate For The Current And Two Prior Years |
|  |  | December 31,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2009
| Statutory Federal tax rate |  | 35% |  | 35% |  | 35%
| State taxes, net of Federal tax benefit |  | 0% |  | -2% |  | -1%
| Taxes on foreign earnings |  | -3% |  | -2% |  | -5%
| Valuation allowance |  | -3% |  | 0% |  | 0%
| Gain (loss) on sale of businesses |  | 0% |  | 4% |  | -3%
| Chilean withholding tax reversals |  | 0% |  | -3% |  | 0%
| Other - net |  | 0% |  | -1% |  | -1%
| Effective tax rate |  | 29% |  | 31% |  | 25%
Schedule Of Income Tax Payable And Receivable |
|  |  | December 31,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010
|  |  | (in millions)
| Income taxes receivable - current |  | $ | 565 |  | $ | 504
| Income taxes receivable - noncurrent |  |  | 21 |  |  | 21
| Total income taxes receivable |  | $ | 586 |  | $ | 525
| Income taxes payable - current |  | $ | 773 |  | $ | 678
| Income taxes payable - noncurrent |  |  | 3 |  |  | 5
| Total income taxes payable |  | $ | 776 |  | $ | 683
Summary Of Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities |
|  |  | December 31,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010
|  |  | (in millions)
| Differences between book and tax basis of property |  | $ | 1,895 |  | $ | 1,260
| Cumulative translation adjustment |  |  | 38 |  |  | 94
| Other taxable temporary differences |  |  | 341 |  |  | 390
| Total deferred tax liability |  |  | 2,274 |  |  | 1,744
| Operating loss carryforwards |  |  | (1,482) |  |  | (1,615)
| Capital loss carryforwards |  |  | (112) |  |  | (84)
| Bad debt and other book provisions |  |  | (465) |  |  | (522)
| Retirement costs |  |  | (359) |  |  | (313)
| Tax credit carryforwards |  |  | (46) |  |  | (52)
| Other deductible temporary differences |  |  | (517) |  |  | (390)
| Total gross deferred tax asset |  |  | (2,981) |  |  | (2,976)
| Less: valuation allowance |  |  | 906 |  |  | 1,280
| Total net deferred tax asset |  |  | (2,075) |  |  | (1,696)
| Net deferred tax (asset)/liability |  | $ | 199 |  | $ | 48
Income Before Income Taxes, Foreign And Domestic |
|  |  | December 31,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2009
|  |  | (in millions)
| U.S. |  | $ | (514) |  | $ | (527) |  | $ | (1,028)
| Non-U.S. |  |  | 2,693 |  |  | 2,392 |  |  | 3,296
| Total |  | $ | 2,179 |  | $ | 1,865 |  | $ | 2,268
Tax Years Potentially Subject To Examination And Jurisdictions |
| Jurisdiction |  | Tax Years Subject to Examination
| Argentina |  | 2005-2011
| Brazil |  | 2006-2011
| Cameroon |  | 2007-2011
| Chile |  | 1998-2011
| Colombia |  | 2008-2011
| El Salvador |  | 2008-2011
| United Kingdom |  | 2008-2011
| United States (Federal) |  | 1994-2011
Summary Of Income Tax Contingencies Text Block |
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2009
|  |  | (in millions)
| Balance at January 1 |  | $ | 437 |  | $ | 510 |  | $ | 554
| Additions for current year tax positions |  |  | 7 |  |  | 14 |  |  | 72
| Additions for tax positions of prior years |  |  | 49 |  |  | 51 |  |  | 7
| Reductions for tax positions of prior years |  |  | (18) |  |  | (46) |  |  | (9)
| Effects of foreign currency translation |  |  | (1) |  |  | (2) |  |  | 6
| Settlements |  |  | - |  |  | (67) |  |  | (104)
| Lapse of statute of limitations |  |  | (3) |  |  | (23) |  |  | (16)
| Balance at December 31 |  | $ | 471 |  | $ | 437 |  | $ | 510

X
- Definition Desctription and amounts of income taxes payable and receivable at the end of the reporting period + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | aes_IncomeTaxesPayableAndReceivableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | aes_IncomeTaxesTablesAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Publisher FASB -Number -Article -Subparagraph -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Paragraph 9 -Section 50 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32639-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfComponentsOfIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of the components of net deferred tax asset or liability recognized in an entity's statement of financial position, including the following: the total of all deferred tax liabilities, the total of all deferred tax assets, the total valuation allowance recognized for deferred tax assets. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Publisher FASB -Number -Article -Subparagraph -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Paragraph 2 -Section 50 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32537-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfDeferredTaxAssetsAndLiabilitiesTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Publisher FASB -Number -Article -Subparagraph -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Paragraph 12 -Section 50 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32687-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfEffectiveIncomeTaxRateReconciliationTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of income before income tax between domestic and foreign jurisdictions. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfIncomeBeforeIncomeTaxDomesticAndForeignTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of tax positions taken in the tax returns filed or to be filed for which it is more likely than not that the tax position will not be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities (i.e., uncertain tax positions) and other types of income tax contingencies, including: (1) the policy on classification of interest and penalties; (2) a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits at the beginning and end of the period; the total amount(s) of: (3) unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate, and (4) interest and penalties recognized in each of the income statement and balance sheet; (5) for positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months of the reporting date the: (i) nature of the uncertainty, (ii) nature of the event that could occur that would cause the change, and (iii) an estimate of the range of the reasonably possible change or a statement that an estimate of the range cannot be made; and (6) a description of tax years that remain subject to examination by major tax jurisdictions. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 48 -Paragraph 21 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32718-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_SummaryOfIncomeTaxContingenciesTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of income tax examinations that an enterprise is currently subject to or that have been completed in the current period typically including a description of the examination, the jurisdiction conducting the examination, the tax year(s) under examination, the likelihood of an unfavorable settlement, the range of possible losses, the liability recorded, the increase or decrease in the liability from the prior period, and any penalties and interest that have been recorded. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -Subparagraph (c),(d)(2)-(3) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32718-109319 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 14 -Paragraph 3 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 48 -Paragraph 21 -Subparagraph e -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 55 -Paragraph 217 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6909077&loc=d3e36027-109320 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_SummaryOfIncomeTaxExaminationsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration