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Income taxes
6 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2016
Income taxes [Abstract]  
Income taxes [Text Block]
Income taxes. The determination of the consolidated provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and related valuation allowances requires management to make judgments and estimates. As a company with subsidiaries in foreign jurisdictions, the process of calculating income taxes involves estimating current tax obligations and exposures in each jurisdiction as well as making judgments regarding the future recoverability of deferred tax assets. Income earned in the U.A.E. is not subject to local country income tax. Additionally, the relative proportion of taxable income earned domestically versus internationally can fluctuate significantly from period to period. Changes in the estimated level of annual pre-tax income, tax laws and the results of tax audits can affect the overall effective income tax rate, which impacts the level of income tax expense and net income. Judgments and estimates related to the Company's projections and assumptions are inherently uncertain; therefore, actual results could differ materially from projections.

The Company's effective tax rate ("ETR") from continuing operations for the second quarter and year-to-date was 55.6% and 16.1%, respectively compared to 17.3% and 7.4% during the respective prior-year periods. The change in the ETR from the prior year-to-date to the current year-to-date is mainly due to lower activity in the U.A.E., the Canadian acquisition and the allocation of tax expense between continuing operations, other comprehensive income and discontinued operations when applying intraperiod allocation rules.

Income tax expense (or benefit) for each year is allocated to continuing operations, discontinued operations, extraordinary items, other comprehensive income, and other charges or credits recorded directly to stockholders’ equity. This allocation is commonly referred to as an intra-period tax allocation, as outlined in ASC 740, Income Taxes ("ASC 740"). When considering intra-period tax allocations, a company also should consider the accounting for income taxes in interim periods. ASC 740-20-45-7 requires that the tax effect of pretax income from continuing operations be determined without regard to the tax effects of items not included in continuing operations. This is commonly referred to as the "incremental approach", where the tax provision is generally calculated for continuing operations without regard to other items.

ASC 740 also includes an exception to the general principle of intra-period tax allocation discussed above. This exception requires that all items (e.g., extraordinary items, discontinued operations, including items charged or credited directly to other comprehensive income) be considered in determining the amount of tax benefit that results from a loss from continuing operations. That is, when a company has a current period loss from continuing operations, management must consider income recorded in other categories in determining the tax benefit that is allocated to continuing operations.

The exception in ASC 740 applies in all situations in which there is a loss from continuing operations and income from other items outside of continuing operations. This would include situations in which a company has recorded a full valuation allowance at the beginning and end of the period, and the overall tax provision for the year is zero (i.e., a benefit would be recognized in continuing operations even though the loss from continuing operations does not provide a current year incremental tax benefit). The ASC 740 exception, however, only relates to the allocation of the current year tax provision (which may be zero) and does not change a company’s overall tax provision. While intra-period tax allocation in general does not change the overall tax provision, it may result in a gross-up of the individual components, thereby changing the amount of tax provision included in each category.

The amount of unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, at July 31, 2016, recorded in other long-term liabilities was $0.1 million, all of which would impact the Company’s effective tax rate if recognized.  The Company includes accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense, with $1,200 included in expense for the current quarter.  The amount of accrued interest and penalties at July 31, 2016 associated with unrecognized tax benefits was $47,300.

The Company files income tax returns in U.S. federal and state jurisdictions. The IRS began an audit of the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015 in August 2016.