16. Income Taxes

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under ASC 740, the effects of changes in tax rates and laws are recognized in the period which the new legislation is enacted. The CARES Act made various tax law changes including among other things (i) increased the limitation under IRC Section 163(j) for 2019 and 2020 to permit additional expensing of interest (ii) enacted a technical correction so that qualified improvement property can be immediately expensed under IRC Section 168(k) and (iii) made modifications to the federal net operating loss rules including permitting federal net operating losses incurred in 2018, 2019, and 2020 to be carried back to the five preceding taxable years in order to generate a refund of previously paid income taxes and (iv) enhanced recoverability of AMT tax credits. The CARES Act did not have a significant impact on the financial statements.

The Company’s provision for income taxes is comprised of the following:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Current
Federal	$	(176,000	)	$	288,000
State and local		(82,000	)		270,000
Total Current		(258,000	)		558,000

Deferred
Federal	$	161,000		$	229,000
State and local		318,000			261,000
Total Deferred		479,000			490,000

Total Provision for income taxes	$	221,000		$	1,048,000

The Company’s effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% for 2020 and 2019 as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Federal statutory income tax rate		21.0	%		21.0	%
Tax amortization of intangible assets		(8.8	%)		(1.3	%)
Permanent differences		1.5	%		0.9	%
State and local taxes, net of federal benefit		2.5	%		4.3	%
Change in valuation allowance		(5.2	%)		—
Other		(4.1	%)		(0.4	%)
Effective tax rate		6.9	%		24.5	%

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	As of December 31,
	2020			2019
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	6,043,000		$	6,876,000
Lease liabilities		722,000			810,000
Share-based compensation		61,000			—
Intangible assets		2,000			—
Subtotal		6,828,000			7,686,000
Less: Valuation allowance		(1,070,000	)		(1,236,000	)
Total Deferred tax assets		5,758,000			6,450,000

Deferred tax liabilities:
Fixed assets	$	(901,000	)	$	(1,062,000	)
Total Deferred tax liabilities		(901,000	)		(1,062,000	)

Net Deferred tax assets	$	4,857,000		$	5,388,000

In assessing the Company’s ability to recover its deferred tax assets, the Company evaluated whether it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire deferred tax asset will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income in those periods in which temporary differences become deductible and/or net operating losses can be utilized. The Company considered all positive and negative evidence when determining the amount of the net deferred tax assets that are more likely than not to be realized. This evidence includes, but is not limited to, historical earnings, scheduled reversal of taxable temporary differences, tax planning strategies and projected future taxable income.

Based on historical operating profitability, positive trend of earnings and projected future taxable income, the Company concluded as of December 31, 2020 that certain of its U.S. deferred tax assets are realizable on a more-likely-than-not basis. The Company maintains a valuation allowance on certain federal net operating losses that are expected to expire unutilized and certain state net operating losses. The Company’s valuation allowance decreased by $166,000 during 2020. The Company will continue to evaluate its deferred tax assets to determine whether any changes in circumstances could affect the realization of their future benefit. If it is determined in future periods that portions of the Company’s deferred income tax assets satisfy the realization standards, the valuation allowance will be reduced accordingly.

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $13.8 million, of which (i) $12.8 million expire in varying amounts starting in 2033 to 2036 if not utilized, and (ii) $1.0 million have an indefinite carryforward period, but are only available to offset 80% of future taxable income. The U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards are subject to annual limitation under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows:

	As of December 31,
	2020		2019
Balance at beginning of period	$	—	$	—
Additions for tax positions taken during current year		1,105,000		—
Additions for tax positions taken during prior year		—		—
Reductions for tax positions taken during prior years		—		—
Settlements		—		—
Expirations of statutes of limitations		—
Balance at end of period	$	1,105,000	$	—

Of the amounts reflected above as of December 31, 2020, the entire amount would reduce the Company’s effective tax rate if recognized. The Company records accrued interest and penalties related to income tax matters as part of the provision for income taxes. For the year ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company recognized expense related to interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits of $0 and $0, respectively. The Company does not believe that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease within the next 12 months.

The Company files a federal income tax return and income tax returns in various state tax jurisdictions. The Company is not currently under examination by the IRS or any state or local taxing authority for any tax year. The open tax years for the federal and state income tax filings is generally 2017 through 2020.