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INCOME TAXES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

NOTE 9 – INCOME TAXES

For financial reporting purposes, income before taxes includes the following components:

		2017				2016				2015
United States		$	(76,925,380	)		$	(89,875,459	)		$	(85,077,024	)
Total		$	(76,925,380	)		$	(89,875,459	)		$	(85,077,024	)

For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, there was no provision for income taxes, current or deferred. At December 31, 2017, we had a federal net operating loss carry forward of approximately $338,613,987 available to offset future taxable income through 2037. The federal carryforwards will begin to expire in 2031.

A reconciliation between taxes computed at the federal statutory rate and the consolidated effective tax rate is as follows:

		2017				2016				2015
Federal statutory tax rate			34.0	%			34.0	%			34.0	%
State tax rate, net of federal tax benefit			5.0	%			5.4	%			4.73	%
Adjustment in valuation allowances			22.6	%			(40.3	)%			(38.97	)%
Federal income tax rate change			(60.8	)%			—	%			—	%
Permanent and other differences			(0.8	)%			0.9	%			0.24	%
(Provision) benefit for income taxes			—	%			—	%			—	%

Deferred income taxes result from temporary differences between the amount of assets and liabilities recognized for financial reporting and tax purposes. The components of the net deferred income tax asset as of December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 are as follows:

		2017				2016				2015
Deferred Income Tax Assets:
Net operating losses		$	99,596,321			$	111,730,450			$	79,499,633
R&D Credit			186,347				186,347				186,347
Total deferred income tax asset			99,782,668				111,916,797				79,685,980
Valuation allowance			(99,782,668	)			(111,916,797	)			(79,685,980	)
Deferred income tax assets, net		$	—			$	—			$	—

We believe that it is more likely than not that we will not generate sufficient future taxable income to realize the tax benefits related to the deferred tax assets on the Company’s Balance Sheet and as such, a valuation allowance has been established against the deferred tax assets for the period ended December 31, 2017.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

As of the period ended December 31, 2017, we have no unrecognized tax benefits.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. federal government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act. The Tax Act makes broad and complex changes to the U.S. federal tax code, including, but not limited to reducing the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 34 percent to 21 percent, effective January 1, 2018. Consequently, we have recorded a decrease related to deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities of approximately $49,500,000 and approximately $2,800,000, respectively, with a corresponding net adjustment to the valuation allowance of approximately $46,700,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017.

The Tax Act modifies Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the IRC, by (1) expanding which employees are considered covered employees by including the chief financial officer, (2) providing that if an individual is a covered employee for a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2016, the individual remains a covered employee for all future years, and (3) removing the exceptions for compensation stemming from contracts entered into on or before November 2, 2017, unless such contracts were materially modified on or after the date. Compensation agreements entered into and share-based payment awards granted after this date will be subject to the revised terms of IRC Section 162(m). In December 2017, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (SAB 118), which allows us to record provisional amounts during a measurement period not to extend beyond one year of the enactment date. Since the Tax Act was passed late in the fourth quarter of 2017, and ongoing guidance and accounting interpretation are expected over the next 12 months, we consider the accounting for share-based compensation arrangements under the Tax Act to be incomplete due to the forthcoming guidance and our ongoing analysis of final year-end data and tax positions.

We must assess whether our valuation allowance analyses are affected by various aspects of the Tax Act. Since, as discussed herein, we have recorded provisional amounts related to certain portions of the Tax Act, any corresponding determination of the need for or change in a valuation allowance is also provisional.