Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Significant components of the Income tax (expense) benefit on earnings from continuing operations were as follows:

For the years ended December 31,	2023		2022		2021
Current:
United States	$	(5,488)	$	(33,097)	$	(48,523)
Foreign	(187,971)		(152,931)		(148,437)
State	—		(273)		—
Total current	(193,459)		(186,301)		(196,960)
Deferred:
United States	—		4,663		87,310
Foreign	55,856		(3,794)		(10,347)
State	—		41		(25,576)
Total deferred	55,856		910		51,387
Total income tax expense	$	(137,603)	$	(185,391)	$	(145,573)

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, foreign income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes was $310,589, $319,515, and $80,864, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, domestic loss from continuing operations before income taxes was $(56,128), $(73,665), and $(218,371), respectively.

Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities arising from continuing operations were as follows:

December 31,	2023		2022
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss and tax credits carryforwards	$	213,222	$	256,047
Operating leases	119,529		132,648
Depreciation	56,936		50,444
Interest	36,067		26,711
Deferred compensation	12,202		13,767
Deferred revenue	17,851		9,942
Nondeductible reserves	17,634		7,342
Allowance for doubtful accounts	8,661		6,781
Unrealized loss	8,362		—
Total deferred tax assets	490,464		503,682
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating leases	107,879		123,430
Investment in subsidiaries	44,154		77,055
Amortization of intangible assets	52,073		45,635
Deferred gain on Walden	440		452
Unrealized gain	—		3,212
Total deferred tax liabilities	204,546		249,784
Net deferred tax assets	285,918		253,898
Valuation allowance for deferred tax assets	(270,982)		(291,722)
Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)	$	14,936	$	(37,824)

Laureate does not provide deferred taxes on the portion of its unremitted earnings attributable to international companies that have been considered to be reinvested indefinitely. As of December 31, 2023, undistributed earnings from foreign subsidiaries totaled $442,000.

If the Company were to remove its assertion and distribute the remaining unremitted earnings, we would record approximately $18,500 in additional deferred tax liabilities. The amount of additional deferred tax liabilities recognized could increase if our expectations change based on future developments.

The Company has recorded a deferred tax asset of $4,696 for US federal, $2,695 for US state net operating loss carryforwards that do not expire, and $26,557 for US state net operating loss carryforwards that will expire by 2040. The Company has a deferred tax asset of $6,274 for foreign net operating loss carryforwards that expire from 2024 to 2033 and $133,342 for foreign net operating loss carryforwards that do not expire. The Company also has $167,615 of tax credit carryforwards that do not expire and $50,473 of interest carryforwards that do not expire.

The decrease in the deferred tax liability for Investment in subsidiaries is related to actions taken by the Company during the fourth quarter of 2023 to distribute certain intercompany loans that resulted in the reclassification of a portion of that deferred tax liability to current income taxes payable as of December 31, 2023.

The Company assesses the realizability of deferred tax assets by examining all available evidence, both positive and negative. Accounting guidance restricts the amount of reliance the Company can place on projected taxable income to support the recovery of the deferred tax assets when a company is in a three-year cumulative loss position. A valuation allowance is recorded when the company is not able to identify a source of income to support realization of the deferred tax asset on a more-likely-than-not basis.

The reconciliations of the beginning and ending balances of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets were as follows:

For the years ended December 31,	2023		2022		2021
Balance at beginning of period	$	291,722	$	283,945	$	320,858
Additions (deductions) from tax expense from continuing operations	(20,740)		7,972		9,115
Charges to other accounts
Additions	—		—		—
Deductions	—		(195)		(46,028)
Balance at end of period	$	270,982	$	291,722	$	283,945

The reconciliations of the reported Income tax (expense) benefit to the amount that would result by applying the United States federal statutory tax rate of 21% to income from continuing operations before income taxes were as follows:

For the years ended December 31,	2023		2022		2021
Tax (expense) benefit at the United States statutory rate	$	(53,437)	$	(51,628)	$	28,877
Internal restructuring transaction	(30,551)		—		—
Permanent differences	1,004		(38,228)		(8,217)
Tax effect of foreign income taxed at higher rate	(33,790)		(40,579)		(16,665)
Change in valuation allowance	(5,273)		(11,241)		17,642
Effect of tax contingencies	(6,352)		(37,151)		(12,573)
Withholding taxes	(9,204)		(16,275)		(43,578)
Tax credits	—		9,211		10,458
Global intangible low taxed income	—		—		(30,616)
Netherlands intellectual property restructuring	—		—		(53,643)
State income tax benefit (expense), net of federal tax effect	—		669		(36,782)
Other	—		(169)		(476)
Total income tax expense	$	(137,603)	$	(185,391)	$	(145,573)

The internal restructuring transaction in the 2023 rate reconciliation represents the write off of deferred tax assets as a result of the reorganization of a subsidiary. These deferred tax assets carried a full valuation allowance and the corresponding reduction in the valuation allowance is included in the change in valuation allowance line item in the table above.

Included within permanent differences in the 2023 rate reconciliation was approximately $5,400 of tax benefit for a change in estimate related to unrealized foreign currency exchange that is fully offset by a corresponding change in the valuation

allowance, as well as approximately $3,800 of tax benefit related to the inflationary adjustment for monetary assets, partially offset by approximately $6,700 of non-deductible expenses.

Included within permanent differences in the 2022 rate reconciliation was approximately $7,700 of tax expense from stock option shortfalls, $13,700 of non-deductible scholarship expenses, and $4,200 of taxable income related to intercompany dividends, as well as $11,200 of expense for a change in estimate related to unrealized foreign currency exchange that is fully offset by a corresponding increase in the valuation allowance.

The reconciliations of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits were as follows:

For the years ended December 31,	2023		2022		2021
Beginning of the period	$	284,929	$	257,587	$	385,283
Additions for tax positions related to prior years	1,337		38,029		80,885
Decreases for tax positions related to prior years	(30,550)		(8,856)		(227,051)
Additions for tax positions related to current year	—		498		21,993
Decreases for unrecognized tax benefits as a result of a lapse in the statute of limitations	—		(2,329)		(3,523)
End of the period	$	255,716	$	284,929	$	257,587

Laureate records interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as a component of Income tax expense. During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, Laureate recognized net interest and penalties related to income taxes of $10,155, $6,828, and $(6,479), respectively. Laureate had $32,434 and $21,355 of accrued interest and penalties at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized approximately $32,500 of income tax reserves related to the application of the high-tax exception to global intangible low-taxed income. Approximately $117,237 of unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, will affect the effective income tax rate. It is reasonably possible that Laureate’s unrecognized tax benefits may decrease within the next 12 months by up to approximately $5,568 as a result of the lapse of statutes of limitations and as a result of the final settlement and resolution of outstanding tax matters in various jurisdictions.

Laureate and various subsidiaries file income tax returns in the United States federal jurisdiction, and in various states and foreign jurisdictions. With few exceptions, Laureate is no longer subject to United States federal, state and local, or foreign income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2014. United States federal and state statutes are generally open back to 2020; however, the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) has the ability to challenge 2005 through 2019 net operating loss carryforwards. Statutes of other major jurisdictions are open back to 2010 for Chile, 2018 for Mexico, 2016 for Peru and 2018 for the Netherlands.