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Income Taxes
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
Income Taxes  
Income Taxes

11. Income Taxes

The Company recognizes federal, state and foreign current tax liabilities or assets based on its estimate of taxes payable to or refundable by tax authorities in the current fiscal year. The Company also recognizes federal, state and foreign deferred tax liabilities or assets based on the Company's estimate of future tax effects attributable to temporary differences and carry forwards. The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce any deferred tax assets by the amount of any tax benefits that, based on available evidence and judgment, are not expected to be realized.

The Company assesses whether a valuation allowance should be recorded against its deferred tax assets based on the consideration of all available evidence, using a "more likely than not" realization standard. The four sources of taxable income that must be considered in determining whether deferred tax assets will be realized are: (1) future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences (i.e., offset of gross deferred tax assets against gross deferred tax liabilities); (2) taxable income in prior carryback years, if carryback is permitted under the applicable tax law; (3) tax planning strategies and (4) future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards.

In assessing whether a valuation allowance is required, significant weight is to be given to evidence that can be objectively verified. A significant factor in the Company's assessment is that the Company is in a three-year historical cumulative loss position. This fact, combined with uncertain near-term market and economic conditions, reduced the Company's ability to rely on projections of future taxable income in assessing the realizability of its deferred tax assets.

 

After a review of the four sources of taxable income as of June 30, 2011 (as described above), the Company recognized an increase in the valuation allowance primarily related to its U.S.-based deferred tax amounts resulting from carryforward net operating losses generated during the three and six months ended June 30, 2011. These deferred tax benefits, combined with a corresponding charge to income tax expense of $1.6 and $10.1 million related to the increased valuation allowance, during the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively, resulted in an insignificant effective income tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011. The Company's valuation allowance was $31.8 million on gross deferred tax assets of $34.2 million at June 30, 2011. The net unreserved portion of the Company's remaining deferred tax assets at June 30, 2011 primarily related to research and development tax credits associated with the Company's Canadian subsidiary.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, the Company recorded income tax expense, including discrete items, of $275,000, and $573,000, respectively. These amounts vary from the income tax benefit that would be computed at the U.S. statutory rate resulting from its operating losses during the same period primarily due to an offsetting increase in the Company's U.S.-based deferred tax valuation allowance and expenses attributable to foreign operations.

The Company follows the accounting guidance related to financial statement recognition, measurement and disclosure of uncertain tax positions. The Company recognizes the impact of an uncertain income tax position at the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant taxing authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. As of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the total liability for unrecognized tax benefits was $12.3 million and $12.0 million, respectively, and is included in other long-term liabilities. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, the Company included $145,000 and $299,000 respectively, of interest expense related to uncertain tax positions in its Consolidated Statements of Operations.

In the third quarter of 2011, the Company expects to release $11.8 million of its liability for unrecognized tax benefits due to the expiration of the statute of limitations applicable to the 2007 taxable year.

The Company and its subsidiaries file U.S., state, and foreign income tax returns in jurisdictions with various statutes of limitations. The California Franchise Tax Board is currently conducting an examination of the Company's California income tax returns for 2006 and 2007. The Internal Revenue Service is currently conducting an examination of the Company's U.S. income tax return for 2009. The Company is also subject to various income federal tax examinations for the 2001 through 2009 calendar years due to the availability of net operating loss carryforwards. The Company believes appropriate provisions for all outstanding issues have been made for all jurisdictions and all open years. However, because audit outcomes and the timing of audit settlements are subject to significant uncertainty, the Company's current estimate of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits could increase or decrease for all open years.