Income Taxes

The following table compares our income tax expense (benefit) and effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:



	Three months ended						Nine months ended
	December 31,						December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	182		$	(1,623	)	$	186		$	(1,439	)
Effective tax rate	(4.7		)%	45.6		%	(2.0		)%	15.0		%

For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2018, the effective tax rate was different than the statutory rate due primarily to the recognition of net operating losses as deferred tax assets, which were offset by increases in the valuation allowance, adjustments to uncertain tax positions, a SAB 118 and Tax Act deferred tax adjustment including the ability to offset indefinite lived deferred tax liabilities with certain deferred tax assets, certain foreign and state tax effects, and other U.S. permanent book to tax differences.

For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, the effective tax rate was different than the statutory rate due primarily to a $1.3 million benefit resulting from the effect of a reduction in the deferred rate due to federal tax reform, recognition of net operating losses as deferred tax assets, which were offset by increases in the valuation allowance, certain foreign and state tax effects including a benefit of $0.4 million related to a settlement with the California Franchise Tax Board and other U.S. permanent book to tax differences.

We have recorded a valuation allowance offsetting substantially all of our deferred tax assets. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets depends on the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences are deductible. Because of our losses in prior periods, management believes that it is more-likely-than-not that we will not realize the benefits of these deductible differences.

On December 22, 2017, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff Accounting Bulletin ("SAB") No. 118, which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB No. 118 allows registrants to record provisional amounts for a period up to one year from the date of enactment of the Tax Act when the registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act. As of March 31, 2018, it was uncertain if and to what extent various states would enact legislation to conform to the Tax Act. As legislative guidance and accounting interpretations were expected in the future, we considered the accounting of the deferred tax remeasurement including the ability to offset indefinite lived deferred tax liabilities with certain deferred tax assets, to be incomplete and therefore only considered amounts related to these items to be reasonably estimated as of March 31, 2018. We completed the accounting for the Tax Act during Q3 fiscal 2019 and recorded an adjustment on December 31, 2018 of $0.2 million to increase our deferred tax liability associated with certain indefinite lived intangibles.