Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The following table summarizes the income (loss) from continuing operations before benefit (provision) for income taxes and share of net income from joint venture.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2022		2021		2020
United States	$	(40,543)	$	(35,325)	$	(146,963)
Foreign	9,474		12,883		(5,125)
Loss from continuing operations before benefit (provision) for income taxes and share of net income from joint venture	$	(31,069)	$	(22,442)	$	(152,088)

The following table summarizes total income tax expense (benefit) recognized in each year.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2022		2021		2020
Current taxes:
U.S. Federal	$	(545)	$	(19)	$	(299)
State	(625)		(615)		4,599
Foreign	4,576		3,014		2,250
Total current tax expense	3,406		2,380		6,550
Deferred taxes:
U.S. Federal	$	(6,245)	$	(8,421)	$	(10,368)
State	70		(1,099)		(5,368)
Foreign	(986)		(154)		(1,852)
U.S. federal, state and foreign valuation allowance	5,376		5,538		2,066
Total deferred tax benefit	(1,785)		(4,136)		(15,522)
Total income tax expense (benefit)	$	1,621	$	(1,756)	$	(8,972)

The following table presents a reconciliation of income taxes based on the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2022		2021		2020
U.S federal statutory income tax rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
Change in valuation allowance, exclusive of state	(17.5)	%	(20.0)	%	(1.3)	%
State taxes, net of federal taxes, exclusive of tax reform	1.6	%	4.5	%	0.2	%
Non-U.S. earnings taxed at different rates	0.7	%	3.0	%	1.4	%
GILTI	(3.9)	%	(6.0)	%	(0.1)	%
Goodwill impairment	—	%	—	%	(12.7)	%
Deferred true-up	(6.4)	%	—	%	—	%
Research and development tax credit	1.5	%	2.3	%	0.4	%
Change in uncertain tax positions	—	%	0.7	%	2.2	%
CARES Act	—	%	—	%	2.7	%
Interest on CARES Act refund	1.8	%	—	%	—	%
Return to provision	1.3	%	0.8	%	(0.5)	%
Taxes on unremitted foreign earnings	(3.9)	%	2.0	%	(3.9)	%
Restructuring gain	—	%	—	%	(2.6)	%
Intercompany lending	(2.7)	%	(5.3)	%	—	%
Warrant revaluation	3.6	%	6.5	%	—	%
Other adjustments, net	(2.3)	%	(1.7)	%	(0.9)	%
Effective tax rate	(5.2)	%	7.8	%	5.9	%

Our effective tax rate was (5.2)% for 2022 which differed from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21% primarily due to the impact of our valuation allowance change during the year.

Our effective tax rate for continuing operations was 7.8% for 2021. The 2021 effective tax rate for continuing operations differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21% primarily due to the impact of our valuation allowance change during the year.

Our effective tax rate for continuing operations was 5.9% for 2020. The 2020 effective tax rate for continuing operations differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21% primarily due to (1) the impact of the impairment of nondeductible goodwill which is treated as a permanent difference and (2) the accrual of taxes on unremitted earnings of the foreign subsidiaries which may be repatriated.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted. Among other provisions, the CARES Act allows for the carryback of certain tax losses and favorably impacts the deductibility of interest expense and depreciation. The CARES Act had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, primarily due to enacted federal rate difference in the carryback periods, and has been accounted for in the benefit for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2020.

On October 6, 2020, we sold our Life Sciences business via a sale of our equity interest in Precision Engineered Products Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned U.S. domestic subsidiary. Prior to the sale, we completed tax restructuring in which Precision Engineered Products Holdings, Inc., distributed to NN, Inc., all of its asset and equity holdings related to the Power Solutions segment. The restructuring process created a deferred gain, required to be realized upon the third party equity sale, equal to the fair market value of the distributed assets over tax basis. The associated U.S. federal, state, and foreign tax impacts are reflected in the tables within this footnote.

The following table summarizes the principal components of the deferred tax assets and liabilities.

	As of December 31,
	2022		2021
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Tax in excess of book depreciation	$	24,045	$	25,732
Intangible assets	16,978		20,812
Operating leases	10,669		10,473
Interest rate swap	754		37
Taxes on unremitted foreign earnings	4,961		5,630
Other deferred tax liabilities	761		1,007
Total deferred income tax liabilities	58,168		63,691
Deferred income tax assets:
Interest expense limitation	10,723		7,141
Goodwill	22,277		24,262
Inventories	2,292		3,368
Section 174 research and development costs	1,859		—
Pension and personnel accruals	1,717		2,422
Operating leases	12,852		12,834
Net operating loss carryforwards	24,299		23,629
Credit carryforwards	2,803		3,044
Accruals and reserves	978		1,435
Other deferred tax assets	3,086		4,223
Deferred income tax assets before valuation allowance	82,886		82,358
Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets	(30,212)		(25,809)
Total deferred income tax assets	52,674		56,549
Net deferred income tax liabilities	$	5,494	$	7,142

As of December 31, 2022, we had a $33.4 million U.S. federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryover. The federal NOL has an indefinite life, but utilization within any tax year is limited to 80% of taxable income. Therefore, a valuation allowance of $4.4 million has been established to reduce the attribute balance to the amount expected to be utilized. As of December 31, 2022, we had $239.5 million of state NOL carryovers, which begin to expire in 2030. Management believes that certain of the state NOL carryovers will more likely than not expire prior to utilization. As such, a valuation allowance of $15.8 million (prior to federal benefit) has been established to reduce the state attribute balance to the amount expected to be utilized before expiration. We also have $4.8 million, tax-effected, of foreign NOL carryovers at December 31, 2022.  The foreign NOLs have an indefinite life; however, management believes that benefit for certain of the foreign NOLs may not be realized. Therefore, we have established a valuation allowance of $1.8 million to reduce the carrying value of the asset related to foreign NOLs to the amount that has been determined to be more likely than not realized.

We have $0.2 million and $2.6 million of U.S. federal tax credits and tax credits in foreign jurisdictions, respectively, as of December 31, 2022. We have recognized a valuation allowance of $1.9 million for the foreign tax credits. In addition, we have $2.1 million (prior to federal benefit) of state deferred tax assets for which we believe recognition is not appropriate.

We have a U.S. federal and state deferred tax asset related to interest expense carryforwards. Management believes it is more likely than not that the benefit for this assets will not be realized. We have established a valuation allowance of $8.0 million to eliminate the carrying value of this asset.

Management assesses available positive and negative evidence to estimate whether it is more likely than not sufficient future taxable income will be generated to provide use of the existing deferred tax assets. A significant piece of objective negative evidence evaluated is cumulative losses incurred over the three-year period ended December 31, 2022. Such objective evidence limits the ability to consider other subjective evidence, such as our projections for future earnings growth. On the basis of this evaluation, as of December 31, 2022, a valuation allowance of $30.2 million has been recorded to recognize only the portion of the deferred tax asset that is more likely than not to be realized without consideration of future earnings growth.

Management believes all remaining tax assets will more likely than not be realized. However, the amount of the deferred tax asset realized will change based on future conditions, and the amount considered realizable will be adjusted if objective

negative evidence in the form of cumulative losses is no longer present allowing additional weight to be given to subjective evidence such as our projections for growth.

During 2022, the valuation allowance increased by $4.4 million, primarily due to allowances recorded against U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards and carryforwards of disallowed interest expense which are subject to certain annual deduction limitations. The increase was partially offset by utilization of previously reserved net operating loss carryforwards in certain foreign jurisdictions, the write-off of deferred tax assets and adjustments to state net operating losses resulting from amended returns for which a full valuation allowance was recorded.

As a result of the deemed mandatory repatriation provisions in the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and subsequent recognition in income of GILTI, we do not have material basis differences related to cumulative unremitted earnings for U.S. income tax purposes. However, we continue to evaluate the impact that repatriation of foreign earnings would have on withholding and other taxes. As of December 31, 2022, we have recorded a liability of $5.0 million for the anticipated withholding taxes that would be due upon repatriation of the unremitted earnings of those subsidiaries for which management does not intend to permanently reinvest.

In 2021, the Company asserted that it was permanently reinvested in certain jurisdictions for which it previously was unable to assert permanent reinvestment. Prior to the Company’s debt refinancing in 2021, the Company had recorded a liability on all unremitted earnings. However, upon completion of the debt refinancing, the Company reevaluated repatriation plans, changed its assertion for certain jurisdictions and recorded the resulting tax benefit of $2.4 million.

We are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as tax in several foreign jurisdictions. We are also subject to tax by various state authorities.  The tax years subject to examination vary by jurisdiction.  We are no longer subject to U.S. federal examination for periods before 2017. We regularly assess the outcomes of both ongoing and future examinations for the current or prior years to ensure our provision for income taxes is sufficient.  We recognize liabilities based on estimates of whether additional taxes will be due, and we believe our reserves are adequate in relation to any potential assessments.  The outcome of any one examination, some of which may conclude during the next twelve months, is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Interest and penalties related to federal, state, and foreign income tax matters are recorded as a component of the provision for income taxes in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). Accrued interest and penalties of $0.5 million, $0.5 million, and $0.6 million are included in other non-current liabilities as of December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. In 2022, we accrued $0.6 million of interest on IRS refunds relating to the CARES Act. We initially filed refund claims in 2021 and will be accruing interest quarterly until refunds are received.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2022		2021		2020
Balance at beginning of year	$	125	$	247	$	2,589
Additions for tax positions of prior years	—		—		121
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(7)		(122)		(2,463)
Balance at end of year	$	118	$	125	$	247

The reduction to unrecognized tax benefits in 2022 is related to the foreign currency remeasurement of previously unrecognized tax benefits. As of December 31, 2022, the unrecognized tax benefits would, if recognized, impact our effective tax rate by $0.6 million, inclusive of the impact of interest and penalties.  Management believes that it is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized income tax benefits, including interest and penalties, may not decrease during the next twelve months as no statutes are expected to lapse within the period.

We operate under tax holidays in other countries, which are effective through December 31, 2026, and may be extended if certain additional requirements are satisfied. The tax holidays are conditional upon our meeting certain employment and investment thresholds. The tax holidays did not impact our 2022 foreign taxes. The impact of these tax holidays decreased foreign taxes by $0.2 million and $0.2 million for 2021 and 2020, respectively.