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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Income Taxes  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
Effective January 1, 2014, the Company commenced operating as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, the Company will generally be entitled to a deduction for dividends that it pays and therefore will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on its net taxable income that is currently distributed to its stockholders. The Company also may be subject to certain federal, state, local, and foreign taxes on its income and assets, including (1) alternative minimum taxes, (2) taxes on any undistributed income, (3) taxes related to the TRSs, (4) certain state, local, or foreign income taxes, (5) franchise taxes, (6) property taxes, and (7) transfer taxes. In addition, the Company could in certain circumstances be required to pay an excise or penalty tax, which could be significant in amount, in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Internal Revenue Code 1986, as amended ("Code") to maintain qualification for taxation as a REIT. The Company's small cells will initially be conducted through one or more TRSs. The Company has submitted a private letter ruling request with the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") regarding whether certain components of its small cells and the related rents qualify as REIT real property and could be included in our REIT. If any of the small cell assets and operations are included in the REIT in the future, the Company would expect to de-recognize its previously recorded U.S. federal and state net deferred tax liabilities related to such small cell assets and operations. Additionally, the Company will include in TRSs its tower operations in Australia and will include certain other assets and operations in TRSs. Those TRS assets and operations would continue to be subject, as applicable, to federal and state corporate income taxes and to foreign taxes in the jurisdictions in which such assets and operations are located. The Company's foreign assets and operations (including its tower operations in Puerto Rico and Australia) most likely will be subject to foreign income taxes in the jurisdictions in which such assets and operations are located, regardless of whether they are included in a TRS or not. The Company will be subject to a federal corporate level tax rate (currently 35%) on the gain recognized from the sale of assets occurring within a specified period (generally 10 years) after the REIT conversion up to the amount of the built in gain that existed on January 1, 2014, which is based upon the fair market value of those assets in excess of our tax basis on January 1, 2014.  This gain can be offset by any remaining federal net operating loss carryforwards.
For the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company's effective tax rate differed from the federal statutory rate predominately due to the Company's REIT status, including the dividends paid deduction. The income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2014 primarily related to the TRS. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, the Company's effective tax rate differed from the federal statutory rate predominately due to state taxes of $6.9 million, including the impact of certain subsidiaries without state income tax filing requirements incurring taxable losses for which no state benefit could be recorded.