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Income Taxes
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2014
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes

9. 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 carryforwards. 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., the 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, 2014 (as described above), the Company recognized increases 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, 2014. These deferred tax benefits, offset by a corresponding charge to income tax expense related to an increase in the valuation allowance of $5.5 million and $9.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, respectively, resulted in an insignificant effective income tax rate. The Company’s valuation allowance was $88.5 million on net deferred tax assets of $88.6 million at June 30, 2014. The net unreserved portion of the Company’s remaining deferred tax assets at June 30, 2014 primarily related to research and development tax credits associated with the Company’s Canadian subsidiary.

 

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, the Company recorded an income tax expense, including discrete items, of $24,000 and $49,000, respectively. This amount varies from the income tax expense that would be computed at the U.S. statutory rate resulting from its operating loss during the period primarily due to the aforementioned offsetting increase in the Company’s deferred tax assets valuation allowance.

Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sections 382 and 383, annual use of the Company’s net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwards may be limited in the event a cumulative change in ownership of more than 50% occurs within a three-year period. The Company completed an IRC Section 382 analysis during the period ended June 30, 2014 to assess the risk that the Company experienced an ownership change. Based on this analysis, the Company does not believe it experienced an ownership change during 2013.

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 on an income tax return 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, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the total liability for unrecognized tax benefits was $62,000 and $62,000, respectively, and is included in other long-term liabilities. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, the Company included $0 of interest benefit related to uncertain tax positions in its condensed consolidated statements of operations.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company expects to release $62,000 of its liability for unrecognized tax benefits due to the expiration of the statute of limitations applicable to the 2009 taxable year.

The Company and its subsidiaries file U.S., state, and foreign income tax returns in jurisdictions with various statutes of limitations. The Company is also subject to various Federal income tax examinations for the 2003 through 2013 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.