INCOME TAXES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

In general, the Company is required to use an estimated annual effective tax rate ("AETR") to measure the income tax expense or benefit recognized on a year to date basis in an interim period. In addition, certain items included in income tax expense as well as the tax impact of certain items included in pretax income must be treated as discrete items. The income tax expense or benefit associated with these discrete items is fully recognized in the interim period in which the items occur.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security ("CARES Act") was enacted and signed into law. Certain provisions of the CARES Act impacted the 2019 income tax provision computations of the Company and have been reflected in the consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The CARES Act modified the interest limitation under section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code ("163(j)") for 2019

and 2020, increasing the allowable business interest deduction from 30% to 50% of adjusted taxable income. This modification significantly increased the allowable interest deduction for the Company in 2019, resulting in less utilization of net operating loss carryforwards. For state tax purposes, an estimated net benefit of approximately $10,500 was recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2020 driven by a decrease in federal taxable income for 2019 due to the 163(j) law change under the CARES Act. As states enact new tax legislation in response to the federal CARES Act, this benefit may change. In addition, the CARES Act accelerated the ability of companies to receive refunds of Alternative Minimum Tax credits. For the Company, the remaining approximately $12,000 in tax credits will be refunded as part of the 2019 tax filing.

Altice USA

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, Altice USA recorded a tax expense of $17,035 on pre-tax income of $15,497, resulting in an effective tax rate that was higher than the U.S. statutory tax rate. The higher tax rate was due to the impact of certain non-deductible expenses and certain state tax expense adjustments, partially offset by a benefit resulting from the recently enacted CARES Act.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019, Altice USA recorded a tax benefit of $22,586 on pre-tax loss of $47,784, resulting in an effective tax rate that was higher than the U.S. statutory tax rate. The higher tax rate was due to revaluation of state deferred taxes primarily due to certain changes to the state tax rates used to measure the Company’s deferred tax liabilities and certain non-deductible expenses.

CSC Holdings

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, CSC Holdings recorded a tax expense of $5,029 on pre-tax income of $15,151, resulting in an effective tax rate that was higher than the U.S. statutory tax rate. The higher tax rate was due to the impact of certain non-deductible expenses and certain state tax expense adjustments, partially offset by a benefit resulting from the recently enacted CARES Act.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019, CSC Holdings recorded a tax benefit of $15,676 on pre-tax loss of $23,540, resulting in an effective tax rate that was higher than the U.S. statutory tax rate. The higher tax rate was due to revaluation of state deferred taxes primarily due to certain changes to the state tax rates used to measure CSC Holdings’ deferred tax liabilities, partially offset by certain non-deductible expenses.