Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

13.  INCOME TAXES

The Company’s US and foreign pre-tax (loss) income is summarized in the table below:

Amounts in thousands	2024		2023		2022
(Loss) income before taxes:
US	$	(96,548)	$	(30,793)	$	(10,142)
Foreign		3,136		6,961		16,152
Total (loss) income before taxes	$	(93,412)	$	(23,832)	$	6,010

The Company’s provision (benefit) for income taxes is summarized as follows:

	For the year ended December 31,
Amounts in thousands		2024		2023		2022
US - Current	$	333	$	1,088	$	3,176
US - Deferred		26,227		(6,504)		(14,981)
Provision (benefit) for US income taxes	$	26,560	$	(5,416)	$	(11,805)
Foreign - Current	$	2,174	$	17,085	$	4,291
Foreign - Deferred		(1,061)		(17,012)		(146)
Provision for foreign income taxes	$	1,113	$	73	$	4,145
Total provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	27,673	$	(5,343)	$	(7,660)

The Company’s effective income tax rate differs from the statutory federal income tax rate as follows:

Amounts in thousands	2024	2023	2022
US federal income tax statutory rate	21.0%	21.0%	21.0%
Foreign tax rate differential	(0.2%)	23.3%	18.6%
State income tax (net of federal benefit)	2.5%	2.1%	0.9%
Income taxed to owners of non-controlling interest (Smooth Bourbon)	1.6%	4.7%	—
Meals, entertainment, gifts and giveaways	(0.2%)	(1.0%)	3.7%
Statutory to US GAAP adjustments, including foreign currency	(0.8%)	0.8%	(3.7%)
Valuation allowance	(52.2%)	(5.5%)	(173.5%)
Unrecognized tax benefit	0.6%	(0.3%)	(4.7%)
Stock options	(0.2%)	(1.0%)	7.0%
Effect of cross-border tax laws (GILTI, Subpart F)	(0.7%)	—	2.5%
Foreign dividend withholding - current	(1.3%)	(5.1%)	—
Foreign dividend withholding - unremitted earnings	0.2%	(15.0%)	—
Permanent and other items	0.1%	(1.6%)	0.7%
Total provision for income taxes	(29.6%)	22.4%	(127.5%)

The Company’s effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2024 was (29.6%). The federal corporate income tax rate in the United States for 2024 was 21%. The Company is also subject to Colorado, Missouri, West Virginia and Maryland state jurisdictions that had corporate tax rates ranging from 4.0% to 8.25% in 2024. The Company’s foreign tax rate differential reflects the fact that the US federal corporate income tax rate differs from statutory rates in Poland, Austria, Mauritius and Canada, which are 19.0%, 23.0%, 17.0% and 23.0%, respectively. Further, the income tax burden on the earnings taxed to the non-controlling interest holders of Smooth Bourbon is not reported by the Company.

Items impacting the effective tax rate include a foreign withholding tax related to a cash dividend paid from the Company’s Canadian subsidiary CDR to its wholly owned Austrian subsidiary CRM. Additionally, in anticipation of the Company’s plan to potentially repatriate a portion of unremitted foreign earnings to the US in the form of a cash dividend, the Company has recorded a deferred tax liability of $3.3 million for the required foreign tax withholding associated with the potential dividend. The movement of exchange rates for intercompany loans denominated in US dollars further impacted the effective income tax rate because foreign currency gains and losses generally are not taxed until realized. Therefore, the overall effective income tax rate can be impacted by foreign currency gains or losses in the future.

The Company records deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the difference between the financial statement and income tax basis of assets and liabilities using the enacted statutory tax rate in effect for the year these differences are expected to be taxable or reversed. Deferred income tax expenses or credits are based on the changes in the asset or liability from period to period. The recorded deferred tax assets are reviewed for impairment on a quarterly basis by reviewing the Company’s internal estimates for future taxable income. The Company assesses the need for a valuation allowance based on its ability to realize the benefits of the Company’s deferred tax assets.

The Company continues to maintain a full valuation allowance on deferred tax assets for CMR, CRM and Century Resorts International, Ltd. Further, based on management’s assessment of available positive and negative evidence to estimate whether sufficient taxable income will be generated to permit use of existing deferred tax assets in the United States, as of December 31, 2024, a valuation allowance of $49.3 million has been recorded to recognize the portion of US deferred tax assets more likely than not to be realized, which materially impacted the Company’s effective tax rate in 2024. The Company's valuation allowances increased by $48.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

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The Company’s deferred income taxes at December 31, 2024 and 2023 are summarized as follows:

Amounts in thousands		2024		2023
Deferred tax assets (liabilities) – US Federal and state:
Deferred tax assets
Amortization of goodwill for tax	$	15,984	$	8,115
Financing obligation to VICI Properties, Inc. subsidiaries		141,614		127,074
NOL carryforward		4,344		2,705
Operating and finance leases		331		394
Disallowed interest expense		20,456		11,036
Accrued liabilities and other		1,096		1,780
		183,825		151,104
Valuation allowance		(49,279)		—
	$	134,546	$	151,104
Deferred tax liabilities
Property and equipment	$	(135,522)	$	(126,426)
Operating and finance leases		(312)		(375)
Prepaid expenses		(411)		(475)
Unremitted foreign subsidiary earnings		(3,044)		(2,343)
	$	(139,289)	$	(129,619)
Long-term deferred tax (liability) asset	$	(4,743)	$	21,485
Deferred tax assets (liabilities) – foreign
Deferred tax assets
Property and equipment	$	613	$	314
Financing obligation to VICI Properties, Inc. subsidiaries		35,818		38,354
NOL carryforward		9,967		10,245
Accrued liabilities and other		867		978
Operating and finance leases		5,580		5,138
Subsidiary liquidation		1,831		2,378
Exchange rate gain		695		589
		55,371		57,996
Valuation allowance		(11,016)		(11,389)
	$	44,355	$	46,607
Deferred tax liabilities
Property and equipment	$	(21,765)	$	(24,425)
Exchange rate loss		(1)		(4)
Intangibles		(980)		(1,062)
Operating and finance leases		(4,975)		(4,485)
Unremitted foreign subsidiary earnings		(302)		(1,225)
Others		(475)		(609)
	$	(28,498)	$	(31,810)
Long-term deferred tax asset	$	15,857	$	14,797

The Company has analyzed filing positions in all of the US federal, state and foreign jurisdictions where it is required to file income tax returns, as well as all open tax years in these jurisdictions. The Company has identified its US federal tax return, its state tax returns in Colorado, Missouri, West Virginia and Maryland and its foreign tax returns in Canada and Poland as “major” tax jurisdictions, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.

The Company’s income tax returns for the following periods are currently subject to examination:

Jurisdiction	Periods
US Federal	2021-2023
US State – Colorado	2020-2023
US State – Maryland	2023
US State – Missouri	2021-2023
US State – West Virginia	2021-2023
Canada	2020-2023
Mauritius	2021-2023
Poland	2019-2023
Austria	2019-2023

The Company had income tax net operating loss carryforwards related to its domestic and international operations of approximately $76.5 million as of December 31, 2024. The Company had recorded $14.3 million of deferred tax assets related to the net operating loss carryforwards, excluding the impact of the adjustments of valuation allowances and unrecognized tax benefits. The deferred tax assets expire as follows:

Amounts in thousands
2024 – 2034	$	639
2035 – 2045		8,653
No expiration		5,019
Total deferred tax assets	$	14,311

As of December 31, 2024, the Company has accumulated undistributed earnings generated by its foreign subsidiaries that significantly exceed the approximately $58.4 million of cash and cash equivalents held by its foreign subsidiaries. Because substantially all of these accumulated undistributed earnings have previously been subject to the one-time transition tax on foreign earnings required by the Tax Act or have been subject to tax under the GILTI regime, any additional taxes due with respect to such earnings or the excess of the amount for financial reporting over the tax basis of the Company’s foreign investments would generally be limited to foreign withholding and the tax effect of current gains or losses. Due to management’s anticipation of repatriating certain current earnings from its foreign subsidiaries, the Company has recorded a deferred tax liability of $3.3 million for the foreign withholding tax required on a potential cash dividend to the US. Absent a need for additional funds in the US, management intends to indefinitely reinvest the historical earnings in Canada and other foreign jurisdictions.

During 2024, the Company recognized $0.5 million of unrecognized tax benefits due to a lapse of statute of limitations. The Company’s total amount of unrecognized tax benefit and changes to unrecognized tax benefit during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 are summarized in the table below:

Amounts in thousands	2024		2023
Unrecognized tax benefit - January 1	$	539	$	528
Gross increases - tax positions in prior period		—		11
Gross decreases - tax positions in prior period		—		—
Gross increases - tax positions in current period		—		—
Settlements		—		—
Lapse of statute of limitations		(539)		—
Unrecognized tax benefit - December 31	$	—	$	539

The Company recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits and penalties as income tax expense. Related to the unrecognized tax benefits above, the Company did not accrue any penalties and interest during 2024.