Liabilities relating to legal proceedings and government inquiries, to the extent that we have concluded such liabilities are probable and the amounts of such liabilities are reasonably estimable, are recorded on the consolidated balance sheets. A certain number of the claims are insured but subject to varying deductibles, and a certain number of the claims are uninsured. The aggregate range of possible loss related to (i) matters considered reasonably possible, and (ii) reasonably possible amounts in excess of accrued losses recorded for probable loss contingencies was immaterial, as of June 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022. Our estimates of such matters could change in future periods.
Surety Bonds
We, as a condition for entering into a substantial portion of our construction contracts, had outstanding surety bonds as of June 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022. We have agreed to indemnify the surety if the surety experiences a loss on the bonds of any of our affiliates.
Self-Insurance
We are self-insured up to certain limits with respect to workers’ compensation, and general liability and vehicle liability matters, and health insurance. We maintain accruals for self-insurance retentions based upon third-party data and claims history.
Prior to the Merger, Southland LLC, and various domestic subsidiaries, elected to be taxed as an S-corporation, under the provisions of Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, their respective earnings were not subject to entity level income tax, but instead, the owners were liable for federal income taxes on their respective shares of the applicable income. American Bridge and Oscar Renda, two domestic subsidiaries of Southland LLC, had historically been taxed as a C-corporation and their income subject to entity-level tax.
Following the closing of the Merger on February 14, 2023, Southland LLC, along with various domestic subsidiaries, elected to voluntarily revoke their S-corporation status effective January 1, 2023. As a result, Southland LLC, and their domestic subsidiaries, will elect to file a consolidated corporate income tax return for the 2023 calendar year.
The federal statutory tax rate is 21%. Southland’s effective tax rate was 61.0% and 8.6% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The primary differences between the statutory rate and the effective rate for the three months ended June 30, 2023 were due to state income taxes, the permanent book to tax differences related to earnouts as well as income earned in a foreign jurisdiction with a zero tax rate; however, that foreign income is included within U.S taxable income through GILTI. The effective tax rate was 51.0% and 33.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The primary differences between the statutory rate and the effective rate for the six months ended June 30, 2023 were due to state income taxes, the release of the valuation allowance recorded on American Bridge’s U.S. and state net deferred tax assets, permanent book to tax difference related to earnouts, and a lower effective rate on overall foreign earnings.
The change in filing structure as a result of the Merger required recording deferred tax assets and liabilities related to entities previously not subject to income tax with $5.0 million being recorded to income tax expense for the six months ended June 30, 2023. As the Merger did not require acquisition accounting under U.S. GAAP, the recording of these deferred tax assets and liabilities was recorded to current operations in accordance with the requirements under ASC 740. Additionally, $1.1 million was recorded to income tax expense for the six months ended June 30, 2023 due to the change in the state effective tax rate applied to both American Bridge and Oscar Renda deferred tax assets and liabilities.
As a result of the new U.S. consolidated filing structure, Southland LLC is in a net deferred tax asset position for both federal and state income tax due to net operating losses recorded in the three and six month period ended June 30, 2023. Southland LLC is in a three-year cumulative book income position after adjusting for permanent and one-time items and is forecasting that the net deferred tax assets, including net operating losses, are more-likely-than-not to be fully utilized. Therefore, a valuation allowance is not deemed necessary as of June 30, 2023. The valuation allowance related to American Bridge federal and state net deferred tax assets previously recorded at the year ended December 31, 2022 has been removed resulting in a benefit to income tax of $3.8 million recorded in the three months ended March 31, 2023 and no change was recorded to this in the six months ended June 30, 2023.