XML 28 R16.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.2
Income Taxes
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes

NOTE 7: INCOME TAXES

Each interim period is considered an integral part of the annual period; accordingly, we measure our income tax expense using an estimated annual effective tax rate. An enterprise is required, at the end of each interim reporting period, to make its best estimate of the annual effective tax rate for the full fiscal year and use that rate to provide for income taxes on a current year-to-date basis, as adjusted for discrete taxable events that occur during the interim period.

On March 27, 2020, the U.S. government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"). The CARES Act made tax law changes to provide financial relief to companies as a result of the business impacts of COVID-19. Key income tax provisions of the CARES Act include changes in net operating losses (“NOL”) carryback and carryforward rules, increase of the net interest expense deduction limit, and immediate write-off of qualified improvement property. The CARES Act allowed us to carryback our U.S. federal NOL incurred in 2020, generating a $48 million income tax refund, which is recorded in income taxes receivable on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, and is expected to be received during 2021. We also reduced our long-term transition tax payable related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”) by $28 million as a result of the NOL carryback during the year ended December 31, 2020. NOLs incurred

after January 1, 2021 will be carried forward as a deferred tax asset and included in deferred income taxes, net on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2021.

In addition, certain governments have passed legislation to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic through loans, wage subsidies, wage tax relief or other financial aid. Some of these governments have extended or are considering extending these programs. We have participated in several of these programs, including the CARES Act in the U.S., the United Kingdom's job retention scheme, as well as programs in other jurisdictions. In addition, in certain countries, such as within the European Union, Singapore, Australia, and other jurisdictions, we are also participating in programs where government assistance is in the form of wage subsidies and reductions in wage-related employer taxes paid by us. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, we recognized non-income tax related government grants and other assistance benefits of $2 million and $5 million, respectively, of which $4 million in cash has been received as of June 30, 2021. During both the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, we recognized non-income tax related government grants and other assistance benefits of $4 million. These amounts were recorded as a reduction of personnel and overhead costs in our unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. As of both June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had a receivable remaining of $2 million, included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet, for payments expected to be received in 2021, which was related to qualified payroll tax credits under the CARES Act.

We recorded total income tax benefits of $6 million and $21 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively, and total income tax benefits of $26 million and $38 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively. The decrease in our income tax benefit during the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, when compared to the same periods in 2020, was primarily due to a decrease in pretax losses recognized during both the three and six months ended June 30, 2021.

Our policy is to recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits and income tax liabilities as part of our income tax expense. As of June 30, 2021, we had an accrued interest liability of $37 million included in other long-term liabilities on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet and no penalties have been accrued.  

By virtue of consolidated income tax returns previously filed with Expedia, we are currently under an IRS audit for the 2009, 2010 and short-period 2011 tax years. We are separately under examination by the IRS for the short-period 2011, 2012 through 2016, and 2018 tax years, and have various ongoing audits for foreign tax years, as well as state income tax audits. These audits include questioning the timing and amount of income and deductions and the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. These examinations may lead to proposed or ordinary course adjustments to our taxes. We are no longer subject to tax examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2009. During the three months ended June 30, 2021, we closed an employment tax audit by the IRS for the 2015 through 2017 tax years. As of June 30, 2021, no material assessments have resulted, except as noted below regarding our 2009, 2010, and 2011 IRS audit with Expedia, our 2012 through 2016 standalone IRS audit, and our 2012 through 2016 HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) audit. 

In January 2017 and April 2019, as part of the IRS audit of Expedia, we received Notices of Proposed Adjustment from the IRS for the 2009, 2010, and 2011 tax years. Subsequently, in September 2019, as part of our standalone audit, we received Notices of Proposed Adjustment from the IRS for the 2012 and 2013 tax years; and in August 2020, we received Notices of Proposed Adjustment from the IRS for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax years. These proposed adjustments are related to certain transfer pricing arrangements with our foreign subsidiaries, and would result in an increase to our worldwide income tax expense in an estimated range of $95 million to $105 million at the close of the audit if the IRS prevails, which includes $20 million to $30 million related to the 2009 through 2011 pre Spin-Off tax years. The estimated range takes into consideration competent authority relief and transition tax regulations, and is exclusive of deferred tax consequences and interest expense, which would be significant. We disagree with the proposed adjustments and we intend to defend our position through applicable administrative and, if necessary, judicial remedies. Our policy is to review and update tax reserves as facts and circumstances change. Based on our interpretation of the regulations and available case law, we believe the position we have taken with regard to transfer pricing with our foreign subsidiaries is sustainable. In addition to the risk of additional tax for 2009 through 2016 transactions, if the IRS were to seek transfer pricing adjustments of a similar nature for transactions in subsequent years, we would be subject to significant additional tax liabilities. We have requested competent authority assistance under the Mutual Agreement Procedure (“MAP”) for tax years 2009 through 2016. We expect the competent authorities to present a resolution for the 2009 through 2011 tax years in the near future.  Upon receipt, we will assess the resolution provided by the competent authorities as well as its impact on our existing income tax reserves for all open subsequent years.

In January 2021, we received from HMRC an issue closure notice relating to adjustments for 2012 through 2016 tax years. These proposed adjustments are related to certain transfer pricing arrangements with our foreign subsidiaries and would result in an increase to our worldwide income tax expense in an estimated range of $45 million to $55 million, exclusive of interest expense, at the close of the audit if HMRC prevails. We disagree with the proposed adjustments and we intend to defend our position through applicable administrative and, if necessary, judicial remedies. Our policy is to review and update tax reserves as facts and

circumstances change. Based on our interpretation of the regulations and available case law, we believe the position we have taken with regard to transfer pricing with our foreign subsidiaries is sustainable.