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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Income Taxes [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Note 6. Income Taxes
We recorded a tax benefit of $120,000 on our $9.6 million of income before taxes and equity in net income (loss) of unconsolidated entities for the nine months ended September 30, 2012.  For the first nine months of 2011 our income tax provision was $531,000 on our $30.3 million of income before equity in net income (loss) of unconsolidated entities. Included in the nine months ended September 30, 2012 was a $400,000 decrease in our valuation allowance.  The required valuation allowance was reduced by this amount due to the recording of a $400,000 deferred tax liability attributable to differences between the book and tax opening balances of the assets of Frascati Shops, Inc., which we acquired in August 2012. See Note 20. These provision amounts represent our qualifying U.S. flag operations, which continue to be taxed under a "tonnage tax" regime rather than under the normal U.S. corporate income tax regime and foreign tax withholdings.  We established a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets in 2010 because, based on available information, we could not conclude that it was more likely than not that the full amount of deferred tax assets generated primarily by NOL carryforwards and AMT credits would be realized through the generation of taxable income in the near future. We have and will continue to evaluate the need for a valuation allowance on an annual basis. For further information on certain tax laws and elections, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2011, including "Note G - Income Taxes" to the consolidated financial statements included therein.