INCOME TAXES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

The Company's total income tax expense (benefit) for our income (loss) before income taxes were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021		2020
Income (loss) before income taxes and equity in losses of unconsolidated affiliates	$	492	$	(6,817)
Total income tax benefit	$	(1,565)	$	(1,508)

There were cash payments for income taxes, net of refunds, of $496 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and there were cash payments of $7 thousand for income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The Company’s tax benefit was $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the tax benefit of $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase in tax benefit in the three-month period is due to the tax benefit received from the partial release of the valuation allowance and excess tax benefits from employee stock compensation. The Company recognized $0.5 million in excess tax benefits related to employee share-based compensation for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $0.3 million recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had a deferred tax asset of approximately $9.4 million from net operating losses and tax credits and a net partial valuation allowance of approximately $4.4 million recorded against these deferred tax assets. In the first quarter, the Company released approximately $1.1 million of the partial valuation allowance against tax credits expiring in years after December 31, 2021. The release was due to future financial income forecasts showing the utilization of these credits.