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INCOME TAXES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
INCOME TAXES
NOTE 17 INCOME TAXES

 

The Company is subject to income tax on an entity basis on income arising from the tax jurisdiction in which it and its subsidiaries operate.

 

The Company’s two operating subsidiaries, Lihua Electron and Lihua Copper, are generally subject to PRC enterprise income tax (“EIT”). Both Lihua Electron and Lihua Copper are subject to an EIT rate of 25% for 2012 and 2011 under China’s Unified Enterprise Income Tax Law (“New Tax Law”).

 

The New Tax Law also imposes a 10% withholding income tax for dividends distributed by a foreign invested enterprise to its immediate holding company outside China for distribution of earnings generated after January 1, 2008. Under the New Tax Law, the distribution of earnings generated prior to January 1, 2008 is exempt from the withholding tax. As management does not anticipate that the subsidiaries in the PRC will distribute their earnings to the Company for the year ending December 31, 2012, and no dividends were distributed in the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, no deferred tax liability has been recognized for the undistributed earnings of these PRC subsidiaries through June 30, 2012. Total undistributed earnings of these PRC subsidiaries at June 30, 2012 was RMB1,096,594,358 ($173,377,343).

 

No provision for other overseas taxes is made as neither Lihua, Ally Profit or Lihua Holdings has any taxable income in the U.S., British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong, respectively.

 

The Company’s provision for income taxes consisted of:

 

    For the Three Months     For the Six Months  
    Ended June 30,     Ended June 30,  
    2012     2011     2012     2011  
PRC income tax:                                
Current   $ 4,676,545     $ 4,581,443     $ 9,133,507     $ 8,533,952  
Deferred     173,064       10,004       (6,552 )     (19,351 )
                                 
    $ 4,849,609     $ 4,591,447     $ 9,126,955     $ 8,514,601  

 

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes determined at the local income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate is as follows:

 

    For the Three Months     For the Six Months  
    Ended June 30,     Ended June 30,  
    2012     2011     2012     2011  
                         
Pre-tax income   $ 18,296,275     $ 18,957,523     $ 34,048,633     $ 35,392,663  
                                 
United States federal corporate income tax rate     34 %     34 %     34 %     34 %
Income tax computed at United States statutory
corporate income tax rate
    6,220,733       6,445,557       11,576,535       12,033,505  
Reconciling items:                                
Loss not recognized as deferred tax assets     257,658       196,876       600,187       425,909  
Non-deductible expenses (income)     81,674       (57,581 )     74,444       -  
Change in fair value of warrants     14,960       (409,933 )     136,241       (898,113 )
Rate differential for PRC earnings     (1,724,138 )     (1,645,697 )     (3,267,003 )     (3,055,799 )
Other     (1,278 )     62,225       6,551       9,099  
Effective tax expense   $ 4,849,609     $ 4,591,447     $ 9,126,955     $ 8,514,601  

 

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of deferred income tax assets are as follows:

 

    June 30,     December 31,  
    2012     2011  
Deferred income tax assets:                
Net operating loss carry forward   $ 4,231,319     $ 3,631,132  
Unrealized intercompany profit in inventory     19,626       13,142  
Accrued R&D expenses     -       187,446  
Less: Valuation allowance     (4,231,319 )     (3,631,132 )
                 
    $ 19,626     $ 200,588  

 

As of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company’s U.S. entity, Lihua International, Inc., had net operating loss carry forwards of $12,445,057 and $10,679,801, respectively, available to reduce future taxable income which will expire in various years through 2030. Management believes it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize these potential tax benefits as the Company currently has no U.S. operations and is not likely to generate any operating profits in the U.S. in foreseeable future. As a result, the full amount of the valuation allowance was provided against the potential tax benefits.

 

As of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company has no material unrecognized tax benefits which would favorably affect the effective income tax rate in future periods and does not believe that there will be any significant increases or decreases of unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve months. No interest or penalties relating to income tax matters have been imposed on the Company during the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, and no provision for interest and penalties is deemed necessary as of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

 

According to the PRC Tax Administration and Collection Law, the statute of limitations is three years if the underpayment of taxes is due to computational errors made by the taxpayer or its withholding agent. The statute of limitations extends to five years under special circumstances, which are not clearly defined. In the case of a related party transaction, the statute of limitations is ten years. There is no statute of limitations in the case of tax evasion.