Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes for tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return in accordance with the FASB's rules on income taxes. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company had no uncertain tax positions.

The Company's policy is to classify accrued penalties and interest related to unrecognized tax benefits in the Company's income tax provision. The Company did not record any accrued interest or penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018.

Income tax benefit for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 differs from the amounts that would be provided by applying the U.S. statutory income tax rates to pretax income or loss principally due to stock-based compensation, political lobbying expense, political contributions, nondeductible officer compensation, state income taxes, and for 2018, the effect of deferred tax asset valuation allowances. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 the Company recognized $0.1 million of income tax expense and $29.6 million of income tax benefit, respectively. No income tax expense or benefit was recognized for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 as a result of a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset balance. The Company considers all available evidence (both positive and negative) to estimate whether sufficient future taxable income will be generated to permit the use of the existing deferred tax assets. Such evidence includes the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment, and judgment is required in considering the relative weight of negative and positive evidence. The Company continues to monitor facts and circumstances in the reassessment of the likelihood that operating loss carryforwards, credits and other deferred tax assets will be utilized prior to their expiration.