INCOME TAXES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

A reconciliation between the income tax provision at the U.S. statutory tax rate and the Company’s income tax provision on the condensed consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income is below (in thousands, except for tax rates):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2024			2023
Income before income taxes	$	16,884		$	16,647
U.S statutory tax rate	21		%	21		%
Income tax expense at statutory rate	3,546			3,496
State tax expense, net of federal benefit	1,229			1,314
Foreign tax rates different from U.S. statutory rate	19			49
Non-deductible expenses	224			225
Stock compensation	(250)			(208)
Other	10			9
Total income tax provision	$	4,778		$	4,885

Effective income tax rates for interim periods are based upon our current estimated annual rate. The Company’s effective income tax rate varies based upon an estimate of taxable earnings as well as on the mix of taxable earnings in the various states and countries in which we operate. Changes in the annual allocation and apportionment of the Company’s activity among these jurisdictions results in changes to the effective rate utilized to measure the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities.

Our income tax provision includes the expected benefit of all deferred tax assets, including our net operating loss carryforwards. With certain exceptions, these net operating loss carryforwards will expire from 2030 through 2037 for federal losses, from 2029 through 2038 for state losses, and from 2039 through 2044 for foreign losses. After consideration of all evidence, both positive and negative, management has determined that no valuation allowance is required at March 31, 2024 on the Company’s U.S. federal or state deferred tax assets; however, a valuation allowance has been recorded at March 31, 2024 on deferred tax assets associated with Canadian, Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch net operating loss carryforwards as these foreign subsidiaries have a history of incurring taxable losses in recent years. The valuation allowance will be maintained until sufficient positive evidence exists to support their future realization. Utilization of the Company's net operating loss carryforwards is subject to limitation under Internal Revenue Code Section 382 and similar tax provisions in the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate.

As presented in the income tax reconciliation above, the tax provision recognized on the condensed consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income was impacted by state taxes, non-deductible officer compensation and share-based compensation tax benefits, and foreign tax rates applicable to the Company’s foreign subsidiaries that are higher or lower than the U.S. statutory rate. Our effective state tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was lower than our effective state tax rate for the three ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in our effective state tax rate is primarily a result of a decrease in the statutory rates for certain states in which we operate.