NOTE 14.  INCOME TAXES 



On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”).  The Company recognized the income tax effects of the Tax Act in its 2017 financial statements in accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), which provides guidance for the application of ASC 740, Income Taxes, in the reporting period in which the Tax Act was signed into law.  SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, a company must reflect the income tax effects of those aspects of the Tax Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is complete. The Company finalized all tax positions associated with SAB 118 by filing the 2017 tax return during the year ended December 31, 2018.



The Company’s foreign operations that are considered to be permanently reinvested have statutory tax rates of approximately 25%.



Consolidated income (loss) before income taxes consists of the following:



















The components of the (benefit) provision for income taxes consist of the following:









The following is a reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective rate reported in the Company’s financial statements:







The deferred tax asset write-off represents a write-off of a historical investment that is fully offset by a release in the valuation allowance.



Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting carrying amounts and tax bases of existing assets and liabilities and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.  Significant components of the Company’s existing deferred income tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:



















The Company has provided a valuation allowance against a portion of the deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2019, because the ultimate realization of those assets does not meet the more likely than not criteria.  The majority of the Company’s deferred tax assets consist of net operating loss carryforwards for federal tax purposes.  If a change in control were to occur, these could be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (“Code”), as amended.



In assessing the realizability of deferred income tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized.  The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible and net operating loss and credit carryforwards expire.  The estimates and judgments associated with the Company’s valuation allowance on deferred tax assets are considered critical due to the amount of deferred tax assets recorded by the Company on its consolidated balance sheet and the judgment required in determining the Company’s potential for future taxable income.  The need for a valuation allowance is reassessed at each reporting period. 



As a result of the Tax Act, the U.S. federal corporate tax rate was reduced to 21 percent, effective January 1, 2018.  In addition, the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”) was repealed and taxpayers with AMT credit carryovers in excess of their regular tax liability may have credits refunded over multiple years from 2018 to 2022.



For tax years beginning January 1, 2018, net operating losses generated will be carried forward indefinitely, thus creating an indefinite-lived deferred tax asset.  However, only 80% of the net operating losses generated after January 1, 2018 may be used to offset future taxable income.  Due to these changes in the tax law, management has scheduled out the reversal of deferred tax assets and liabilities to determine the generation of future net operating loss carryforwards with an indefinite reversal period. The resultant indefinite lived net operating loss can only offset 80% of future taxable income generated by indefinite lived deferred tax liabilities.



The net change in the valuation allowance for deferred income tax assets was ($13,490),  ($3,689), and ($21,851) during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.  A roll forward of our valuation allowance for deferred income tax assets for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 is as follows:









As of December 31, 2019, the Company had net operating loss and research and experimentation credit for U.S. federal income tax purposes of $131,621 and $4,250, respectively.  The Company believes its U.S. Federal net operating loss (“NOL”) will substantially offset its future U.S. Federal income taxes until expiration.  The majority of the Company’s pre-tax income is currently earned and expected to be earned in the U.S., or taxed in the U.S. as Subpart F. income and will be offset with the NOL.



NOLs available to offset taxable income, subject to compliance with Section 382 of the Code, begin to expire based upon the following schedule:







Tax positions are recognized in the financial statements when it is more-likely-than-not that the position will be sustained upon examination by the tax authorities.  The Company conducts its business globally.  As a result, the Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions, and are subject to examination for the open tax years in the U.S. federal and state jurisdictions of 2014-2018 and in the foreign jurisdictions of 2006-2018.  The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.



A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of total unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 are follows:







Included in the balance of total unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2019 and 2018, are potential benefits of $561 and $545, respectively, that if recognized, would affect the effective rate, subject to impact of valuation allowance, on income from continuing operations. Unrecognized tax benefits that reduce a net operating loss, similar tax loss or tax credit carryforward are presented as a reduction to deferred income taxes. As a result, the Company classified $462 and $384 of its unrecognized tax benefit as a reduction to deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.



Interest and penalty expense recognized related to uncertain tax positions amounted to $0,  $0, and $13 during the years ending December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. Total accrued interest and penalties as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 were $4 and $9, respectively, and were included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities.