Income Taxes |
3 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mar. 31, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income Taxes |
INCOME TAXES
The provision (benefit) for income taxes was $241 and $(2,902) for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The estimated 2016 effective tax rate was 25.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2016 compared to a 40.9% estimated annual effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2015.
The principal reason for the difference between the statutory rate and the estimated annual effective rate for 2016 were the effects of the tax deduction under Internal Revenue Code Section 179D and investment tax credits and production tax credits to which the Company is entitled from owned plants. The principal reason for the difference between the statutory rate and the estimated annual effective rate for 2015 were the effects of the valuation allowance required for the expected Canada losses as well as the investment tax credits and production tax credits to which the Company is entitled to from owned plants.
The investment tax credits to which the Company is entitled to fluctuate from year to year based on the cost of the renewable energy plants the Company places or expects to place in service in that year. In addition, the tax deduction under Internal Revenue Code Section 179D expired as of December 31, 2014 and and was retroactively reinstated in December of 2015. The current expiration date for the 179D deduction is December 31, 2016.
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the total amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:
At both March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company had approximately $2,200 of total gross unrecognized tax benefits. Of the total gross unrecognized tax benefits as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, approximately $800 and $800, respectively, (net of the federal benefit on state amounts) represents the amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would favorably affect the effective income tax rate in any future periods.
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