Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

INCOME TAXES

Provision For 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, that are taken into account 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 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 approximately $13.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 compared to an income tax provision of $8.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017. Our estimated effective income tax rate was 31.9% and 43.2% for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and

2017, respectively. The variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the three months ended September 30, 2018 were primarily due to various permanent tax differences. The variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the three months ended September 30, 2017 were primarily due to various permanent tax differences.

Our income tax provision was approximately $31.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to an income tax provision of $4.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. Our estimated effective income tax rate was 26.1% and 17.9% for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were primarily due to various permanent tax differences, the impact of state and local taxes, increase in our valuation allowance associated with certain foreign losses, and the change in our valuation allowance associated with net unrealized losses that are capital in nature. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate were primarily due to the recognition of a one-time tax benefit for the revaluation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities due to a change in our state effective tax rate as a result of the Share Exchange.

U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Due to the timing of the enactment and the complexity involved in applying the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”), we made reasonable estimates of the effects and recorded provisional amounts in our accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. See Note 10, Income Taxes to our consolidated financial statements included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 for a summary of the benefit that we have provisionally recorded to reflect the change in the value of our deferred tax assets and liabilities resulting from the 2017 Tax Act. As of September 30, 2018, the tax effects of the 2017 Tax Act that we recorded in our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 remain provisional, except for the amount of the mandatory one-time tax on the accumulated earnings of our foreign subsidiaries, which is zero and is now final. The other estimates remain provisional. As we collect and prepare necessary data, and interpret the 2017 Tax Act and any additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or other standard-setting bodies, we may make additional adjustments to the provisional amounts. Those adjustment may materially impact the provision for income taxes and the effective tax rate in the period in which the adjustments are made.