| Income Taxes | (8) Income Taxes The Company and its subsidiaries conduct business in the United States and various foreign countries and are subject to taxation in numerous domestic and foreign jurisdictions. As a result of its business activities, the Company files tax returns that are subject to examination by various U.S. federal, state, and local, and foreign tax authorities. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or foreign income tax examination by tax authorities for years before 2014. However, due to the Company’s use of state net operating loss (“NOL”) and federal tax credit carryovers in the United States, U.S. tax authorities may attempt to reduce or fully offset the amount of state NOL or federal tax credit carryovers from tax years ended 2007 and forward that the Company used in later tax years. The Company’s major foreign tax jurisdictions and tax years that remain subject to potential examination are Italy for tax years 2013 and forward, Poland for tax years 2014 and forward, Spain for tax years 2015 and forward, and Germany and the United Kingdom for tax years 2016 and forward. To date there have been no material audit assessments related to audits in any of the applicable foreign jurisdictions. As of June 30, 2019, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits of $5.1 million, which are recorded in “Other long-term liabilities” in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. If recognized, $4.5 million of these unrecognized tax benefits would impact the Company’s effective tax rate. The Company recognizes estimated accrued interest related to unrecognized income tax benefits in the provision for income tax accounts. Penalties relating to income taxes, if incurred, would also be recognized as a component of the Company’s provision for income taxes. Over the next 12 months, the amount of the Company’s liability for unrecognized tax benefits is expected to decrease by $2.2 million due to expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. As of June 30, 2019, the amount of cumulative accrued interest expense on unrecognized income tax benefits was approximately $0.8 million. The following table summarizes the Company’s deferred tax assets, net of deferred tax liabilities and valuation allowance (in thousands), as of:
June 30,
December 31,
2019
2018
Deferred tax assets, net of deferred tax liabilities
$
22,006
$
18,786
Valuation allowance
(1,507
)
(1,507
)
Deferred tax assets, net of deferred tax liabilities and valuation allowance
$
20,499
$
17,279
The valuation allowance as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 related to certain foreign tax credit carryforwards that, in the Company’s present estimation, more likely than not will not be realized. The Company has estimated its annual effective tax rate for the full fiscal year 2019 and applied that rate to its income before income taxes in determining its provision for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The Company also records discrete items in each respective period as appropriate. The estimated effective tax rate is subject to fluctuation based on the level and mix of earnings and losses by tax jurisdiction, foreign tax rate differentials, and the relative impact of permanent book to tax differences (e.g., non-deductible expenses). Each quarter, a cumulative adjustment is recorded for any fluctuations in the estimated annual effective tax rate as compared to the prior quarter. As a result of these factors, and due to potential changes in the Company’s period-to-period results, fluctuations in the Company’s effective tax rate and respective tax provisions or benefits may occur. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $6.7 million that resulted in an effective tax rate of 35.0%, as compared to a provision for income taxes of $0.5 million that resulted in an effective tax rate of 7.7% for the six months ended June 30, 2018. The change in the effective tax rate in 2019 is mainly due to certain discrete items and the change in the expected proportion of U.S. versus foreign income. The most significant discrete item was a tax provision of $8.1 million on the $29.8 million gain from the sale of the Voice.com domain name in May 2019, as discussed in Note 12, Sale of Domain Name, to the Consolidated Financial Statements. In the United States, the Tax Act reduced the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective January 1, 2018. Additionally, the Tax Act requires certain Global Intangible Low Taxed Income (“GILTI”) earned by controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”) to be included in the gross income of the CFCs’ U.S. shareholder. The Company has elected the “period cost method” and treats taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred. The Tax Act allows a U.S. corporation a deduction equal to a certain percentage of its foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”). The Company estimated the impact of the GILTI tax and FDII deduction in determining its 2019 annual effective tax rate that is reflected in its provision for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The Tax Act also imposed a Transition Tax on previously untaxed accumulated and current earnings and profits of certain foreign subsidiaries of the Company. The Company recorded a final tax expense of $37.2 million related to the Transition Tax, of which $8.3 million was paid in 2018. As of June 30, 2019, $28.9 million of the Transition Tax was unpaid, of which $28.0 million was recorded in “Other long-term liabilities” and $0.9 million was recorded in “Accounts payable, accrued expenses, and operating lease liabilities” in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Transition Tax will be paid in full by 2025. The Company earns a significant amount of its revenues outside the United States and, as of December 31, 2018, the Company’s accumulated foreign earnings and profits were $397.4 million. As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the amount of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments held by the Company’s U.S. entities was $294.0 million and $173.6 million, respectively, and by the Company’s non-U.S. entities was $280.8 million and $402.5 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2019, the Company intends to indefinitely reinvest $197.4 million of its undistributed foreign earnings. This amount takes into consideration repatriations the Company made during the three months ended June 30, 2019. After taking into account the Transition Tax described above, the Company expects such repatriation generated only an immaterial U.S. tax expense related to U.S. state income taxes. In the United Kingdom, recently enacted legislation related to offshore receipts in respect of intangible property imposes a 20% tax on payments made by multinational companies that hold intangible property in low tax jurisdictions where the income derived from such intangible property results from sales within the United Kingdom. Based on currently available information, the Company believes that this tax does not apply to its operations in the United Kingdom. In determining the Company’s provision for income taxes, net deferred tax assets, liabilities, and valuation allowances, management is required to make judgments and estimates related to projections of domestic and foreign profitability, the timing and extent of the utilization of NOL carryforwards, applicable tax rates, transfer pricing methods, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. As a multinational company, the Company is required to calculate and provide for estimated income tax liabilities for each of the tax jurisdictions in which it operates. This process involves estimating current tax obligations and exposures in each jurisdiction, as well as making judgments regarding the future recoverability of deferred tax assets. Changes in the estimated level of annual pre-tax income, changes in tax laws, particularly changes related to the utilization of NOLs in various jurisdictions, and changes resulting from tax audits can all affect the overall effective income tax rate, which, in turn, impacts the overall level of income tax expense or benefit and net income. Judgments and estimates related to the Company’s projections and assumptions are inherently uncertain. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from projections. Currently, the Company expects to use its deferred tax assets, subject to Internal Revenue Code limitations, within the carryforward periods. Valuation allowances have been established where the Company has concluded that it is more likely than not that such deferred tax assets are not realizable. If the Company is unable to regain or increase profitability from its normal business operations in future periods, it may be required to increase the valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets, which could result in a charge that would materially adversely affect net income in the period in which the charge is incurred. |
