XML 25 R14.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.20.2
INCOME TAXES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Income Tax Benefit (Expense)
The Company’s income tax benefit (expense) from continuing operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 (Successor), the three months ended September 30, 2019, the period from May 2, 2019 through September 30, 2019 (Successor) and the period from January 1, 2019 through May 1, 2019 (Predecessor), respectively, consisted of the following components:
(In thousands)Successor Company
Three Months Ended September 30,
20202019
Current tax expense$(1,698)$(4,336)
Deferred tax benefit (expense)16,926 (12,422)
Income tax benefit (expense)$15,228 $(16,758)

(In thousands)Successor CompanyPredecessor Company
Nine Months Ended September 30,Period from May 2, 2019 through September 30,Period from January 1, 2019 through May 1,
202020192019
Current tax benefit (expense)$(5,134)$(7,283)$76,744 
Deferred tax benefit (expense)214,615 (25,478)(115,839)
Income tax benefit (expense)$209,481 $(32,761)$(39,095)

The effective tax rate for the Successor Company for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 was 32.2% and 9.8%, respectively. The effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 was primarily impacted by the impairment charges to non-deductible goodwill discussed in Note 5. The deferred tax benefit primarily consists of $125.5 million related to the FCC license impairment charges recorded during the period.
The effective tax rate for the Successor Company for the period from May 2, 2019 through September 30, 2019 was 39.0%. The effective tax rate for continuing operations of the Predecessor Company for the period from January 1, 2019 through May 1, 2019 (Predecessor) was 0.4%. The income tax expense for the period from January 1, 2019 through May 1, 2019 (Predecessor) primarily consists of the income tax impacts from reorganization and fresh start adjustments, including adjustments to our valuation allowance. The Company recorded income tax benefits of $102.9 million for reorganization adjustments in the Predecessor period, primarily consisting of: (1) tax expense for the reduction in federal and state net operating loss carryforwards from the cancellation of debt income realized upon emergence; (2) tax benefit for the reduction in deferred tax liabilities attributed primarily to long-term debt that was discharged upon emergence; (3) tax benefit for the effective settlement of liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits that were discharged upon emergence; and (4) tax benefit for the reduction in valuation allowance resulting from the adjustments described above. The Company recorded income tax expense of $185.4 million for fresh start adjustments in the Predecessor period, consisting of $529.1 million tax expense for the increase in deferred tax liabilities resulting from fresh start accounting adjustments, which was partially offset by $343.7 million tax benefit for the reduction in the valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets.

On March 27, 2020 the CARES Act, which included numerous tax provisions, was signed into law.  While the Company is continuing to evaluate the impact of the enacted tax provisions as additional guidance is provided, upon the Company's initial review the provision with the most significant impact on the Company’s income taxes is the increase to the Section 163(j) interest deduction limitation and the ability to elect to use the Company’s 2019 Adjusted Taxable Income (as defined under Section 163(j)) for purposes of calculating the 2020 Section 163(j) limitation. There were several other tax provisions included in the CARES Act allowing companies more flexibility in carrying back net operating losses generated in 2018, 2019 or 2020, temporarily eliminating the provision limiting net operating losses utilization to 80% of taxable income and the acceleration of
refunds available from alternative minimum tax credits.  The Company does not expect to benefit from any of these provisions.  In addition to the income tax provisions mentioned above, the CARES Act also included provisions impacting employment taxes allowing companies to defer the payment of the employee portion of certain employment taxes that would be due from the enactment date through January 1, 2021.  The amounts deferred are due fifty percent by December 31, 2021 and fifty percent by December 31, 2022.  The Company has deferred $20.3 million in employment taxes as of September 30, 2020. In addition, the CARES Act included a provision providing an Employee Retention tax credit, which would offset employment taxes, for qualified companies and wages.  The Company has recorded approximately $0.7 million in credits during