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13. Income Tax

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Tax

The Company files a consolidated federal income tax return including all its domestic subsidiaries. State tax returns are filed on a consolidated, combined or separate basis depending on the applicable laws relating to the Company and its subsidiaries.

Income tax expense for each of the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 consisted of $6 thousand of state and local taxes.

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, there is minimal tax expense recognized. The deferred tax liability existing at December 31 2017 and 2016 is reducing the valuation allowance needed, as the Company believes the reversal of the deferred tax liability will occur prior to the expiration of the NOL carryforward. U.S. loss and foreign loss before income taxes are as follows:

		Year Ended December 31,
		2017				2016
United States			(30,687	)			(16,318	)
Foreign			(1,077	)			688
Pretax Income			(31,764	)			(15,630	)

Income tax benefit differs from the amounts computed by applying the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate (34%) to loss before income taxes as a result of the following:

		Year Ended December 31,
		2017				2016
Income tax expense (benefit) at the federal statutory rate			(10,799	)			(5,314	)
Tax Rate Re-measurement - 2017 Tax Cut			19,600				-
State tax expense (benefit)			(1,689	)			(775	)
Foreign tax differential			1,154				(401	)
Stock-based compensation			299				152
Interest expense			33				26
Other			(24	)			127
Credits			(24	)			(24	)
Valuation allowance			(8,544	)			6,215
Income Tax Expense			6				6

Effective Tax Rate			-0.02	%			-0.04	%

The components of the net deferred tax asset or (liability) are as follows:

		Year Ended December 31,
		2017				2016
Org, Start-up and Intangible Assets			5,045				7,435
Stock Based Comp			223				185
Prop., Plant, and Equip.			(14,551	)			(21,639	)
NOLs and R&D Credits			53,874				66,698
Convertible Debt			-				(5	)
Ethanol Credits			1,500				1,500
Debt Extinguishment			91				612
Other, net			545				620
Subtotal			46,727				55,406
Valuation Allowance			(46,727	)			(55,406	)
Deferred tax assets (liabilities)			-				-

Based on the Company’s evaluation of current and anticipated future taxable income, the Company believes it is more likely than not that insufficient taxable income will be generated to realize the net deferred tax assets, and accordingly, a valuation allowance has been set against these net deferred tax assets.

The Company does not provide for U.S. income taxes for any undistributed earnings of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, as the Company considers these permanently reinvested in the operations of such subsidiaries and have a cumulative foreign loss. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, these undistributed losses totaled $12.0 million, and $10.9 million, respectively. If any earnings were distributed, some countries may impose withholding taxes. Following the passage of the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the U.S. imposed a transition tax on the accumulated earnings of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries through December 31, 2017. Since the foreign subsidiaries have a cumulative loss, there was no U.S. federal tax impact related to the transition tax. All future earnings of the foreign subsidiaries will not be subject to U.S. income taxes as the U.S. has moved to a modified territorial system for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. Finally, due to the Company’s overall deficit in foreign cumulative earnings and its U.S. loss position, the Company does not believe a material net unrecognized U.S. state deferred tax liability exists.

ASC 740 Income Taxes provides that the tax effects from an uncertain tax position can be recognized in the Company’s financial statements only if the position is more-likely-than-not of being sustained on audit, based on the technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the recognition threshold are reported at the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be realized. This determination requires a high degree of judgment and estimation. The Company periodically analyzes and adjusts amounts recorded for the Company’s uncertain tax positions as events occur to warrant adjustment when the statutory period for assessing tax on a given tax return, period expire or if tax authorities provide administrative guidance or a decision is rendered in the courts. The Company does not reasonably expect the total amount of uncertain tax positions to significantly increase or decrease within the next 12 months. As of December 31, 2017, the Company’s uncertain tax positions were not significant for income tax purposes.

We conduct business globally and, as a result, one or more of the Company’s subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions. In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to examination by taxing authorities throughout the world, including such major jurisdictions as India, Mauritius, and the United States. The Company files a U.S. federal income tax return and tax returns in three U.S. states, as well as in two foreign jurisdictions. Penalties and interest are classified as general and administrative expenses.

The following describes the open tax years, by major tax jurisdiction, as of December 31, 2017:

United States — Federal		2007 – present
United States — State		2008– present
India		2010 – present
Mauritius		2010 – present

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $188.0 million and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $178.0 million. The Company also has approximately $1.5 million of alcohol and cellulosic biofuel credit carryforwards. The federal net operating loss and other tax credit carryforwards expire on various dates between 2027 and 2037. The state net operating loss carryforwards expire on various dates between 2027 through 2037. Under the current tax law, net operating loss and credit carryforwards available to offset future income in any given year may be limited by U.S. or India statute regarding net operating loss carryforwards and timing of expirations or upon the occurrence of certain events, including significant changes in ownership interests. The Company’s India subsidiary also will have net operating loss carryforwards as of March 31, 2018, its tax fiscal year end, of approximately $9.0 million in U.S. dollars, which expire from March 30, 2018 to March 30, 2025.