(10)	Income Taxes

The Company is subject to income tax in numerous jurisdictions and at various rates and the use of estimates is required in determining the provision for income taxes. For the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $619,000 on a loss before tax of $874,000, resulting in an effective tax benefit rate of 70.8%. For the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company recorded a provision for taxes of $1,244,000 on earnings before tax of $3,451,000 resulting in an effective income tax rate of 36%. The effective tax benefit rate of 70.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2016 is higher than the Company’s effective tax rate of 33.5% due to the first quarter adoption of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. Upon adoption, the Company is required to recognize all excess tax benefits in the statement of earnings. The Company recognized excess tax benefits of $326,000 in the first quarter. The effective income tax rate of 36% for the three months ended March 31, 2015 consists of a graduated federal rate slightly higher than 34% and state taxes.

The Company regularly assesses the likelihood that the deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable earnings. The Company considers projected future taxable earnings and ongoing tax planning strategies, and then records a valuation allowance to reduce the carrying value of the net deferred taxes to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized. If the Company’s actual results and updated projections vary significantly from the projections used as a basis for determining its valuation allowance, the Company may need to increase or decrease the valuation allowance against the gross deferred tax assets. The Company will adjust earnings for the deferred tax in the period in which any such determination is made.

The Company applies ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in tax positions recognized in the financial statements. These provisions create a single model to address uncertainty in tax positions and clarify the accounting for income taxes by prescribing the minimum recognition threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements. ASC Topic 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, measurement, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. The Company had an unrecognized tax asset of $379,000 as of both March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. The impact of tax related interest and penalties is recorded as a component of income tax expense. As of March 31, 2016, the Company has recorded $-0- for the payment of tax related interest and there were no tax penalties or interest recognized in the statements of earnings.

The Company is subject to income tax examinations in the U.S. Federal jurisdiction, as well as in the Republic of Ireland and various state jurisdictions. U.S. Federal and state tax years that remain open to examination at March 31, 2016 are 2013 through 2015.