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INCOME TAXES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
INCOME TAXES
15.        INCOME TAXES

For the quarter ended March 31, 2015 the Company was qualified to be taxed as a REIT under Code Sections 856 through 860. As a REIT, the Company is not subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its taxable income to its stockholders.  To maintain qualification as a REIT, the Company must distribute at least 90% of its annual REIT taxable income to its stockholders and meet certain other requirements such as assets it may hold, income it may generate and its stockholder composition. It is generally the Company’s policy to distribute 100% of its REIT taxable income. To the extent there is any undistributed REIT taxable income at the end of a year, the Company distributes such shortfall within the next year as permitted by the Code. For years prior to 2013, the Company retained the amount of taxable income attributable to certain employee remuneration deductions disallowed for tax purposes pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code (“Section 162(m)”). As a result of the externalization of management effective as of July 1, 2013, the Company was not subject to the Section 162(m) disallowance for the 2014 tax year.
 
The state and local tax jurisdictions for which the Company is subject to tax-filing obligations recognize the Company’s status as a REIT, and therefore, the Company generally does not pay income tax in such jurisdictions. The Company may, however, be subject to certain minimum state and local tax filing fees as well as certain excise, franchise or business taxes. The Company’s TRSs are subject to federal, state and local taxes.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2015, the Company recorded $14 thousand of income tax expense for income attributable to its TRSs.  During the quarter ended March 31, 2014, the Company’s TRSs recorded $4.0 million of income tax expense for income attributable to those subsidiaries, and the portion of earnings retained based on Code Section 162(m) limitations.

The Company’s 2013, 2012 and 2011 federal, state and local tax returns remain open for examination.