XML 31 R15.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.5.0.2
Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
INCOME TAXES
The Company recognized income tax expense of $5.7 million and $8.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The decrease in tax expense in the current-year quarter is largely due to lower pre-tax income levels. The effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2016 increased to 43.2%, compared to 35.0% in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to additional valuation allowance being recorded in Canada.
At September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company recorded gross deferred tax assets associated with its Canadian operations of $4.7 million and $3.5 million, respectively, offset by a full valuation allowance. These assets primarily relate to Canadian net operating loss carryforwards that were largely generated by the discontinued North American refuse truck body business. These net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2026. As the Company is currently in a three-year cumulative loss position in Canada, inclusive of transitory purchase accounting expense effects associated with current-year acquisitions, a full valuation allowance has been recorded against these deferred tax assets. As such, the net deferred tax assets associated with the Company’s Canadian operations are zero at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015.
Due to the current cumulative loss position in Canada, the Company continues to adjust its valuation allowance as deferred tax assets increase or decrease, which resulted in effectively no tax benefit being recorded on any Canadian losses in the three months ended September 30, 2016. However, an income tax provision (or benefit) is still required in jurisdictions where the Company is not in a valuation allowance position, which is the case for the majority of the Company’s operations, including the U.S. operations. 
As a result of tax planning strategies, acquisitions or the generation of pre-tax profits, the Canadian deferred tax assets may be realized as part of the Company’s continuing operations in future periods. Management has concluded that it is premature to release the valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets in Canada in the three months ended September 30, 2016, primarily because of the aggregate year-to-date operating losses of current-year acquisitions. The current-year operating losses largely result from the recognition of higher cost of sales associated with sales of acquired equipment, which were increased to fair value in connection with purchase accounting for the acquisition of JJE. While these purchase accounting expense effects are expected to continue for several quarters, the impact on future quarterly operating results is expected to be less significant than in the three months ended September 30, 2016. Management will continue to evaluate whether sufficient positive evidence exists to support the future realization of the Canadian deferred tax assets, such that some, or all, of the valuation allowance might be released in the fourth quarter of 2016, or in a subsequent period.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company recognized income tax expense of $16.2 million and $27.2 million, respectively. The decrease in tax expense in the nine months ended September 30, 2016 is largely due to lower pre-tax income levels. The effective tax rate was 37.2% and 36.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.