11. Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

The income tax benefit for the years ending December 31, 2016 and 2015 consists of the following:

	2016			2015
Current
Federal	$	(735,028	)	$	(7,809,637	)
State		–			(850,251	)
		(735,028	)		(8,659,888	)
Deferred
Federal		–			(331,408	)
State		–			(36,957	)
		–			(368,365	)
Tax provision (benefit)	$	(735,028	)	$	(9,028,253	)

The following reconciles the Federal statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:

	2016			2015
		%			%
Federal statutory rate		34.0			35.0
State net of federal tax		–			2.1
Permanent and other items		5.4			(0.1	)
Other		(25.0	)		–
Change in valuation allowance		(12.0	)		(16.4	)
		2.4			20.6

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, Management evaluates whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. Based on Management’s evaluation, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax asset will not be realized and as such a valuation allowance has been recorded as of December 31, 2016 and 2015. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprised of the following at December 31, 2016 and 2015:

	2016			2015
Deferred income tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	11,752,815		$	1,144,633
Goodwill and intangible assets		1,477,448			6,853,662
Allowance for doubtful accounts		130,580			67,948
Beneficial conversion feature		–			602,681
Charitable contributions		891			505
Stock options		1,010,164			709,375
Accrued liabilities		254,165			–
		14,626,063			9,378,804
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property and equipment		969,933			344,356
Derivative liabilities		–			1,121,138
		969,933			1,465,494
Deferred tax asset, net		13,656,130			7,913,310
Less: valuation allowance		(13,656,130	)		(7,913,310	)
Net deferred tax assets	$	–		$	–

Management has reviewed the provisions regarding assessment of their valuation allowance on deferred tax assets and based on that criteria determined that it should record a valuation allowance of $13.7 million and $7.9 million against its deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The Company has federal net operating loss carryforwards totaling $28.5 million generated in 2016 and expiring in 2036. It also has various state net operating loss carryforwards that begin to expire in 2031. As of December 31, 2016, the Company has estimated remaining refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) of prior year income taxes of approximately $1.45 million. It is anticipated these will be fully recovered. In November of 2016, the IRS commenced an audit of the Company’s 2015 Federal tax return (see note 13).

The Company recognizes the consolidated financial statement impact of a tax position only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than not sustain the position following an audit. For tax positions meeting the more-likely-than–not threshold, the amount recognized in the consolidated financial statements is the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority.

The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and the states of Florida, North Carolina, New Mexico, New Jersey, California and Tennessee. The tax regulations within each jurisdiction are subject to interpretation of related tax laws and regulations and require significant judgment to apply.