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Income Taxes | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |
Income Taxes | 12. INCOME TAXES The domestic pretax loss from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 was $31.4 million, $94.4 million and $138.8 million, respectively. The (benefit from) provision for income taxes from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 consists of the following (dollars in thousands):
|  | For the Year Ended December 31, |
|  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Current provision (benefit) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Federal |  | $ | - |  |  | $ | (364 | ) |  | $ | (10,168 | )
State and local |  |  | 704 |  |  |  | (2,279 | ) |  |  | (346 | )
Total current provision (benefit) |  |  | 704 |  |  |  | (2,643 | ) |  |  | (10,514 | )
Deferred (benefit) provision |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Federal |  |  | (16,247 | ) |  |  | (126,465 | ) |  |  | 13,445 |
State and local |  |  | (1,007 | ) |  |  | (18,346 | ) |  |  | 805 |
Total deferred (benefit) provision |  |  | (17,254 | ) |  |  | (144,811 | ) |  |  | 14,250 |
Total (benefit from) provision for income taxes |  | $ | (16,550 | ) |  | $ | (147,454 | ) |  | $ | 3,736 |
A reconciliation of the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate to our effective income tax rate for continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 is as follows:
|  | For the Year Ended December 31, |  |
|  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |  |
Statutory U.S. federal income tax rate |  |  | (35.0 | ) | % |  | (35.0 | ) | % |  | (35.0 | ) | %
State and local income taxes |  |  | (3.4 | ) |  |  | (2.7 | ) |  |  | (2.6 | ) |
Nondeductible goodwill |  |  | - |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | 0.6 |  |
Valuation allowance |  |  | 0.5 |  |  |  | 0.6 |  |  |  | 37.0 |  |
Valuation allowance release |  |  | - |  |  |  | (116.3 | ) |  |  | - |  |
Federal audit settlement |  |  | (6.7 | ) |  |  | - |  |  |  | 2.4 |  |
Worthless stock |  |  | (11.9 | ) |  |  | - |  |  |  | - |  |
Tax credits |  |  | (0.4 | ) |  |  | (0.2 | ) |  |  | - |  |
Other |  |  | 4.1 |  |  |  | (2.5 | ) |  |  | 0.3 |  |
Effective income tax rate |  |  | (52.8 | ) | % |  | (156.1 | ) | % |  | 2.7 |  | %
The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2016 includes a $3.7 million net benefit for a worthless stock deduction, which decreased the effective tax rate by 11.9%. The 2016 effective tax rate also includes a $2.1 million favorable tax adjustment related to the recent closure of a federal income tax audit covering the years ended December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2014, which decreased the effective tax rate by 6.7%. The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2015 benefitted by 116.3% due to a valuation allowance release of $109.8 million. The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2014 was negatively impacted by 37.0% due to a valuation allowance of $51.6 million. Additionally, the 2014 effective tax rate was negatively impacted by the settlement of a federal income tax audit covering the years ended December 31, 2008 through December 31, 2012, the impact of which was 2.4%. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 is as follows (dollars in thousands):
|  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Gross unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of the year |  | $ | 7,737 |  |  | $ | 9,318 |  |  | $ | 13,900 |
Additions for tax positions of prior years |  |  | 263 |  |  |  | 19 |  |  |  | 129 |
Reductions for tax positions of prior years |  |  | - |  |  |  | (20 | ) |  |  | - |
Additions for tax positions related to the current year |  |  | 1,247 |  |  |  | 864 |  |  |  | 931 |
Reductions due to settlements |  |  | - |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | (4,064 | )
Reductions due to lapse of applicable statute of limitations |  |  | (1,115 | ) |  |  | (2,444 | ) |  |  | (1,578 | )
Subtotal |  |  | 8,132 |  |  |  | 7,737 |  |  |  | 9,318 |
Interest and penalties |  |  | 2,008 |  |  |  | 1,986 |  |  |  | 2,820 |
Total gross unrecognized tax benefits, end of the year |  | $ | 10,140 |  |  | $ | 9,723 |  |  | $ | 12,138 |
The total amount of net unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would favorably affect the effective tax rate in future periods was $6.6 million and $6.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, our short and long-term reserves, recorded within current accrued income taxes and other non-current liabilities, respectively, related to FASB’s interpretation No. 48 of ASC Topic 740-10, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes or (“FIN 48”), were $1.2 million and $6.9 million, respectively. We record interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within (benefit from) provision for income taxes on our consolidated statements of (loss) income and comprehensive (loss) income. The total amount of accrued interest and penalties resulting from such unrecognized tax benefits was $2.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we recognized less than $0.1 million of benefit, $0.7 million of benefit and $0.1 million of benefit, respectively, related to interest and penalties from unrecognized tax benefits in our consolidated results of continuing operations. CEC and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. and in various state and local jurisdictions. CEC and its subsidiaries are routinely examined by tax authorities in these jurisdictions. As of December 31, 2016, CEC had been examined by the Internal Revenue Service through our tax year ending December 31, 2014. In addition, a number of state and local examinations are currently ongoing. It is possible that these state examinations may be resolved within twelve months. Due to the potential for resolution of state examinations, and the expiration of various statutes of limitations, it is reasonably possible that CEC’s gross unrecognized tax benefits balance may change within the next twelve months by a range of zero to $1.8 million. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities result primarily from temporary differences in the recognition of various expenses for tax and financial statement purposes, and from the recognition of the tax benefits of net operating loss carry forwards. Components of deferred income tax assets and liabilities for continuing operations as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 are as follows (dollars in thousands):
|  | December 31, |
|  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |
Deferred income tax assets: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Accrued occupancy |  | $ | 12,973 |  |  | $ | 4,191 |
Deferred rent obligations |  |  | 6,232 |  |  |  | 9,281 |
Foreign tax credits |  |  | 32,998 |  |  |  | 32,998 |
Valuation allowance foreign tax credits |  |  | (32,998 | ) |  |  | (32,998 | )
Compensation and employee benefits |  |  | 15,349 |  |  |  | 12,751 |
Tax net operating loss carry forwards |  |  | 74,315 |  |  |  | 61,982 |
Valuation allowance |  |  | (12,415 | ) |  |  | (8,196 | )
Allowance for doubtful accounts |  |  | 4,773 |  |  |  | 3,967 |
Covenant not-to-compete |  |  | 7 |  |  |  | 11 |
Accrued settlements and legal |  |  | 13,231 |  |  |  | 938 |
Deferred compensation |  |  | 1,223 |  |  |  | 520 |
Accrued restructuring and severance |  |  | 2,561 |  |  |  | 6,014 |
Equity method for investments |  |  | 669 |  |  |  | 256 |
General business tax credits |  |  | 903 |  |  |  | 699 |
Illinois edge credits |  |  | 4,335 |  |  |  | 6,351 |
Valuation allowance edge credits |  |  | (4,335 | ) |  |  | (6,351 | )
Depreciation and amortization |  |  | 40,960 |  |  |  | 47,453 |
Other |  |  | 797 |  |  |  | 712 |
Total deferred income tax assets |  |  | 161,578 |  |  |  | 140,579 |
Deferred income tax liabilities: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Other |  |  | 3,306 |  |  |  | 2,863 |
Total deferred income tax liabilities |  |  | 3,306 |  |  |  | 2,863 |
Net deferred income tax assets |  | $ | 158,272 |  |  | $ | 137,716 |
As of December 31, 2016, the Company has a gross deferred tax asset before valuation allowance of $486.2 million and a gross deferred tax liability of $8.9 million. As of December 31, 2015, the Company had a gross deferred tax asset before valuation allowance of $426.2 million and a gross deferred tax liability of $7.7 million. As of December 31, 2016, we have federal net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $158.1 million, available to offset future taxable income, which do not begin expiring until 2034 and are fully expired in 2036. Additionally, we have $33.0 million of foreign tax credits which expire during 2022 and 2023, and we continue to maintain a full valuation allowance against the foreign tax credits deferred tax balance. We have state net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards of approximately $411.4 million, which expire between 2017 and 2036. Of this amount, approximately $248.2 million relates to separate state NOL carryforwards. We also have Illinois edge credits of $6.7 million gross available to offset future Illinois state income tax, which expire between 2017 and 2019. Valuation allowances have been established against the full amounts of the separate state NOL and Illinois edge credit deferred tax balances. In assessing the continued need for a valuation allowance, we consider both positive and negative evidence related to the likelihood of realization of the deferred tax assets. Topic 740 provides that important factors in determining whether a deferred tax asset will be realized are whether there has been a strong earnings history exclusive of the loss that created the future deductible amount coupled with evidence indicating that the loss is an aberration rather than a continuing condition and whether sufficient taxable income is expected in future years in order to utilize the deferred tax asset. In evaluating the realizability of deferred income tax assets, we consider, among other things, historical levels of taxable income along with possible sources of future taxable income, which include: the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary reporting differences, the existence of taxable income in prior carryback years, the expected impact of tax planning strategies that may be implemented to prevent the potential loss of future income tax benefits and expected future taxable income. Changes in, among other things, income tax legislation, statutory income tax rates, or future taxable income levels could materially impact our valuation of income tax assets and liabilities and could cause our income tax provision to vary significantly among financial reporting periods. If, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not the deferred tax assets will not be realized, we record a valuation allowance, or release all or a portion of the valuation allowance if it is more likely than not the deferred tax assets are expected to be realized. The weight given to the positive and negative evidence is commensurate with the extent to which the evidence may be objectively verified. A high degree of judgment is required to determine if, and the extent to which, valuation allowances should be recorded against deferred tax assets. As of December 31, 2015, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that we will realize most of our deferred tax assets and, as a result, reversed a significant portion of our valuation allowance in the fourth quarter of 2015. A valuation allowance of $47.5 million was maintained as of December 31, 2015 with respect to our foreign tax credits, separate state net operating losses and Illinois edge credits. After considering both positive and negative evidence related to the realization of these deferred tax assets we have determined that it is necessary to continue to record the valuation allowance against these credits and separate state net operating losses. As of December 31, 2016, the total valuation allowance attributable to these items is $49.7 million. The Company concluded it was not more likely than not for the deferred tax assets related to foreign tax credits to be realized and maintained the valuation allowance with respect to these assets. The separate state NOLs can generally only be used by the originating entity and relate to entities announced for teach-out. Since the future operating income (loss) of these entities is restricted to the teach-out period, the more likely than not threshold was not reached with respect to this portion of the deferred tax assets. The Illinois edge credits expire between 2017 and 2019. Given the limited life of these credits and the need to first exhaust an available NOL carryforward, the valuation allowance pertaining to this item was also not released. The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable, however, could be adjusted if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are increased or decreased, and additional weight may be given to subjective evidence such as our projections for growth. We will continue to evaluate our valuation allowance in future years for any change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the deferred tax asset.

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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://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(h)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=d3e32559-109319 Reference 3: 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=65882285&loc=d3e32718-109319 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=d3e32639-109319 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=d3e32537-109319 + Details
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