Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

Our income tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of our annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items, if any, in the relevant period. Each quarter we update our estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if our estimated tax rate changes, we make a cumulative adjustment.

Our interim income tax provision and our interim estimate of our annual effective tax rate are influenced by several factors, including foreign losses and capital gains and losses for which related deferred tax assets are partially offset by a valuation allowance, changes in tax laws and relative changes in unrecognized tax benefits. Additionally, our effective tax rate can be affected by the amount of pre-tax income or loss. For example, the impact of discrete items and non-deductible expenses on our effective tax rate is greater when our pre-tax income or loss is lower.

Our income tax provision was $51.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 compared to our income tax provision of $63.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. Our estimated effective income tax rate was 30.2% and 30.6% for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 were primarily due to excluded foreign losses where the Company carries a full valuation allowance and the impact of state and local taxes. The variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 were primarily due to excluded foreign losses where the Company carries a full valuation allowance and the impact of state and local taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was signed into law December 22, 2017 and included a significant change in the treatment of Research and Development (“R&D”) Expenditures under Section 174. Previously, the qualified amounts were deductible in the year incurred. Beginning in 2022, the amounts must be capitalized and amortized. EchoStar does not expect a material impact in 2022 and continues to evaluate the legislation. On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) was signed into law. Among other provisions, the IRA includes a 15% corporate minimum tax rate applied to certain large corporations and a 1% excise tax on corporate stock repurchases made after December 31, 2022. We do not expect the IRA to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.