Operating Expenses
Our current operating expenses consist of three components — general and administrative expenses, research and development expenses, and selling and marketing expenses.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, wages, and overhead costs incurred to support our business as a publicly traded company. The functions involved include Accounting, Business Development, Finance, HR, Information Technology, Investor Relations, Legal, and portions of other functional areas. Included within these support costs are significant public company expenses such as stock exchange fees, annual meeting expenses, and audit, tax, Sarbanes-Oxley, and other compliance costs.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist of salaries and related expenses for R&D personnel, fees paid to consultants and outside service providers, travel costs, and materials used in clinical trials and general research and development. These costs are primarily focused on leveraging our recent acquisition of Qorvo into new assay development for our TRUFORMA® platform, expanding capabilities and usability within existing products, and exploring new market opportunities.
Selling and Marketing Expenses
Selling and marketing expenses consist of personnel costs (including salaries, related benefits, and stock-based compensation) and costs associated with sales and marketing activities (including conference and tradeshow attendance, sponsorships, and general advertising and promotional activities).
Inflation Reduction Act
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023.
The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax, such as repurchases under $1 million.
Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2023, in connection with a business combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent we would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a business combination, extension vote or otherwise would depend on a number of factors, including (i) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the business combination, extension or otherwise; (ii) the structure of a business combination; (iii) the nature and amount of any equity issuances in connection with a business combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a business combination but issued within the same taxable year of a business combination); and (iv) the content of regulations and other guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The IR Act also included a new 15% Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (“CAMT”) that acts as a new book minimum tax of at least 15% of consolidated U.S. GAAP pre-tax income for corporations with average book income in excess of $1 billion. Any increase in our effective tax rate will depend on a number of factors, including any offsets for general business credits or changes in book income following business combinations. The CAMT is effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. Lastly, the IR Act also creates several potentially beneficial tax credits to incentivize investments in certain technologies and industries.
We are in the process of evaluating the potential impacts of the IR Act. While we do not believe the IR Act will have a material negative impact on our business or our financial performance, the effects of the measures are unknown at this time. Our analysis is ongoing and incomplete, and it is possible that the IR Act could ultimately have a material adverse effect on our tax liability. We continue to monitor the IR Act and related regulatory developments to evaluate their potential impact on our business, tax rate and financial results.