Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

The (provision for) benefit from income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, consists of the following (in thousands):


	2019		2018		2017
Current benefit (provision):
Federal benefit (expense)	$	86	$	164	$	(3,031)
State (expense) benefit	(55)		78		(257)
Total current benefit (provision)	31		242		(3,288)
Deferred benefit (provision):
Federal benefit (expense)	662		(314)		21,575

Total deferred benefit (expense)	662		(314)		21,575
Total benefit (provision)	$	693	$	(72)	$	18,287

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted the 2017 Tax Act. The 2017 Tax Act made broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code that affected the Company’s 2017 financial results. The 2017 Tax Act also established new tax laws that affected the Company’s financial results after 2017, including a reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, additional limitations on the deductibility of executive compensation, limitations on the

deductibility of interest, and repeal of the domestic manufacturing deduction. As such, the Company recognized a $18.4 million income tax benefit related to the re-measurement of our deferred tax assets and liabilities in our 2017 financial statements in accordance with SAB 118, which provides SEC staff guidance for the application of ASC 740 in the reporting period in which the 2017 Tax Act was signed into law. We completed our detailed analysis in 2018 with no material adjustments.

The income tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of deferred income tax assets and (liabilities) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, are as follows (in thousands):


	2019		2018
Deferred income tax assets:
Net operating loss carryover	$	1,519	$	2,730
Stock compensation	580		746
Deferred compensation	$	389	$	243
Other	321		197
Total deferred income tax assets	$	2,809	$	3,916

Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property and equipment	$	(33,761)	(35,030)
Goodwill and other intangible assets	(291)		(573)
Other	—		(219)
Total deferred income tax liabilities	(34,052)		(35,822)
Net deferred income tax liabilities	$	(31,243)	$	(31,906)

The effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, differs from the statutory rate as follows:


	2019		2018		2017
Statutory rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	34.0	%
State and local taxes	(3.7)	%	1.5	%	1.5	%
Uncertain tax position	—	%	(139.1)	%	—	%
Goodwill impairment	(13.7)	%	—	%	—	%
Research and development credit	1.4	%	92.2	%	—	%
Stock based compensation	(0.8)	%	10.0	%	(14.3)	%
Nondeductible compensation	(0.3)	%	(7.8)	%	—	%
Domestic production credit	—	%	—	%	(15.2)	%

Other	0.9	%	3.9	%	(1.5)	%
Effective rate	4.8	%	(18.3)	%	4.5	%
Deferred re-measurement for rate change	—	%	—	%	(1218.0)	%
Effective rate	4.8	%	(18.3)	%	(1213.5)	%

During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company discovered a potential uncertain tax position attributable to the deductibility of certain executive compensation expense for federal income tax purposes aggregating approximately $168,000, $149,000 and $230,000 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As a result, in accordance with ASC Topic 740, during the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company recorded a tax adjustment of $547,000 and accrued penalty and interest expense of $55,000 attributable to the uncertain tax position. Management of the Company determined that effect of the potential uncertain tax position on previously reported results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was not material.

As of December 31, 2019, the Company has filed amended tax returns for the years ended 2015, 2016 and 2017 and has recognized certain offsetting deductions, thus removing our uncertain tax position reserve for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

We account for uncertain tax positions in accordance with guidance in FASB ASC 740, which prescribes the minimum recognition threshold a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of uncertain tax positions is as follows (in thousands):


Balance at January 1, 2019	$	578
Additions based on tax positions related to current year	—
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(578)


Balance at December 31, 2019	$	—

Our policy regarding income tax interest and penalties is to expense those items as incurred. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, there were no significant income tax interest or penalty items in the statement of income.

We had a regular income tax net operating loss carry forward of $6.7 million for federal income taxes as of December 31, 2019. This net operating loss will be carried forward indefinitely but subject to 80% limitation.

We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state jurisdictions. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal or state income tax examination by tax authorities for years before 2015.