10. TAXES

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA,) a comprehensive tax legislation which, among other things, reduced the federal income tax rate for C corporations from 35% to 21% and created a territorial tax system with a one-time mandatory tax on previously deferred foreign earnings of U.S. subsidiaries, effective on January 1, 2018. The TCJA makes broad and complex changes to the Internal Revenue Code which will impact the Company, including reduction of the U.S. corporate income tax rate as well as introduction of business-related exclusions, deductions and credits. The effects of the TCJA have been recorded in the fourth quarter 2017 and its impact to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements are included and described within this footnote.

The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin 118 (“SAB 118”) in December 2017, which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the TCJA. SAB 118 provides that the measurement period for the tax effects of the TCJA should not extend more than one year from the date the TCJA was enacted. To the extent that a company's accounting for certain income tax effects of the TCJA is incomplete but the company is able to determine a reasonable estimate, the company must record a provisional estimate in the financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the TCJA was enacted.

As a result of the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the Company revalued its deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2017 and recognized a provisional tax benefit of approximately $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The impact ultimately realized may differ from this provisional amount, possibly materially, due to, among other things, additional analysis, changes in interpretations and assumptions the Company has made, additional regulatory guidance that may be issued, and actions the Company may take as a result of the TCJA, including analyzing planning opportunities with respect to tax accounting methods. The accounting for the income tax effects of the TCJA is expected to be complete when the 2017 corporate income tax return is filed in 2018.

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the accounting standard for “Income Taxes”, which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Accordingly, deferred income taxes have been provided for the temporary differences between the financial reporting and the income tax basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years to the basis differences.

A breakdown of our income tax expense is as follows:


		Years Ended December 31,
		2017		2016		2015
Federal:
Current	$	3,387,046	$	(1,192,764)	$	2,656,870
Deferred		(3,764,882)		(296,045)		287,755
Total Federal		(377,836)		(1,488,809)		2,944,625

State & local:
Current		64,675		151,728		81,433
Deferred		125,329		(349,284)		86,863
Total State & local		190,004		(197,556)		168,296

Foreign
Current		(37,517)		164,950		13,391
Deferred		(13)		42,337		(41,969)
Total Foreign		(37,530)		207,287		(28,578)

Total	$	(225,362)	$	(1,479,078)	$	3,084,343

A reconciliation of recorded Federal income tax expense to the expected expense computed by applying the applicable Federal statutory rate for all periods to income before income taxes follows:


		Years Ended December 31,
		2017		2016		2015
Expected expense at statutory rate	$	3,272,159	$	(1,270,003)	$	3,404,159

Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:
Change in Statutory Tax Rate		(4,490,916)		-		-
Toll tax on CFC accumulated earnings and profits		2,792,683		-		-
Exempt income from Dominican Republic operations due to tax holiday		(1,802,186)		(2,367,810)		(2,816,963)
Tax on repatriated earnings from Dominican Republic operations		-		2,050,314		2,556,940
Impact of Canadian deemed dividend		-		7,353		-
State and local income taxes		137,336		(99,699)		67,886
Section 199 manufacturing deduction		(260,035)		-		(194,498)
Meals and entertainment		80,316		100,288		98,082
Nondeductible penalties		130		3,847		5,998
Provision to return filing adjustments and other		45,151		96,632		(37,261)
Total	$	(225,362)	$	(1,479,078)	$	3,084,343

As of December 31, 2017, all previously undistributed earnings of $23.6 million from non-U.S. subsidiaries have been subject to the TCJA transition toll tax of $2.8 million. Accordingly, the Company believes that there will be no additional tax cost associated with the repatriation of such foreign earnings.

Deferred income taxes recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017 and 2016 consist of the following:


		December 31,
		2017		2016
Deferred tax assets:
Asset valuation allowances and accrued expenses		-	$	242,916
Inventories	$	333,012		491,371
State and local income taxes		208,076		302,929
Pension and deferred compensation		32,406		63,214
Net operating losses		580,706		736,519
Total deferred tax assets		1,154,200		1,836,949
Valuation allowances		(480,127)		(471,159)
Total deferred tax assets		674,073		1,365,790

Deferred tax liabilities:
Asset valuation allowances and accrued expenses		247,230		-
Fixed assets		784,051		1,676,813
Intangible assets		6,917,331		10,337,533
Other assets		224,132		337,972
Tollgate tax on Lifestyle earnings		227,563		379,271
Total deferred tax liabilities		8,400,307		12,731,589

Net deferred tax liability	$	7,726,234	$	11,365,800

The valuation allowance is related to certain state and local income tax net operating loss carry forwards.

We have provided Puerto Rico tollgate taxes on approximately $3,684,000 of accumulated undistributed earnings of Lifestyle prior to the fiscal year ended June 30, 1994, that would be payable if such earnings were repatriated to the United States. In 2001, we received abatement for Puerto Rico tollgate taxes on all earnings subsequent to June 30, 1994, thus no other provision for tollgate tax has been made on earnings after that date. If we repatriate the earnings from Lifestyle, $227,563 of tollgate tax would be due.

We are subject to tax examinations in various taxing jurisdictions. The earliest exam years open for examination are as follows:


		Earliest Exam Year
Taxing Authority Jurisdiction:
U.S. Federal		2014
Various U.S. States		2013
Puerto Rico (U.S. Territory)		2012
Canada		2012

Our policy is to accrue interest and penalties on any uncertain tax position as a component of income tax expense. As of December 31, 2017 no such expenses were recognized during the year. We do not believe there will be any material changes in our uncertain tax positions over the next 12 months.

Accounting for uncertainty in income taxes requires financial statement recognition, measurement and disclosure of uncertain tax positions recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements. Under this guidance, income tax positions must meet a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold at the effective date to be recognized upon the adoption of the standard. The Company did not have any unrecognized tax benefits and there was no effect on its financial condition or results of operations as a result of implementing this standard.