Note 7 - Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Notes to Financial Statements

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 7 – Income Taxes:

The Company calculates its interim income tax provision in accordance with the accounting guidance for income taxes in interim periods. At the end of each interim period, the Company makes its best estimate of the annual expected effective tax rate and applies that rate to its ordinary year-to-date income or loss. The tax expense or benefit related to significant, unusual, or extraordinary items that will be separately reported or reported net of their related tax effect are individually computed and recognized in the interim period in which those items occur.

The computation of the annual expected effective tax rate at each interim period requires certain estimates and assumptions including, but not limited to, the expected operating income for the year and permanent and temporary differences. The accounting estimates used to compute the provision for income taxes may change as new events occur, additional information is obtained or the tax environment changes.

For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $0.7 million, which represents an effective tax rate of 14.8%. The income tax provision and the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was primarily impacted by the variability in the mix of earnings across the Company’s foreign and domestic operations, subject to various statutory tax rates in those jurisdictions as well as the windfall benefits associated with the stock option exercises in the quarter.

For the three months ended  March 31, 2023, the Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $0.1 million, which represents an effective tax rate of 6.0%. The income tax provision and the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was primarily impacted by the variability in the mix of earnings across the Company’s foreign and domestic operations subject to various statutory tax rates in those jurisdictions as well as the favorable impact of discrete non-taxable gains on the Company’s written put option and income generated on the Company’s SERP life insurance contracts totaling $0.4 million and $0.2 million respectively.