9. INCOME TAXES

The income tax expense (benefit) attributable to the Company’s income (loss) before income taxes consisted of the following:

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A reconciliation of the federal income tax statutory rate and the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:

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The Company’s deferred tax assets (liabilities) consisted of the following:

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As of December 31, 2021, the Company had federal net operating loss carryforwards totaling $14.1 million and state tax carryforwards of $86.3 million. The entire federal net operating loss carryforward can be carried forward indefinitely. Regarding the state tax carryforwards, $85.4 million can be carried forward 20 years and will begin to expire in 2035; the remaining amount can be carried forward indefinitely. The Company also has general business credits of $0.8 million which begin to expire in 2035.

In assessing the realizability of its DTAs, the Company considered whether it is “more likely than not” that some portion or all of the DTAs will not be realized. The ultimate realization of DTAs is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. The Company considered the scheduled reversal of existing deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. The Company evaluated both positive and negative evidence in determining the need for a valuation allowance. The Company continues to assess the realizability of DTAs and concluded that it has not met the “more likely than not” threshold. As of December 31, 2021, the Company continues to provide a valuation allowance against its DTAs that cannot be offset by existing deferred tax liabilities. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 740 (“ASC 740”), this assessment has taken into consideration the jurisdictions in which these DTAs reside. The valuation allowance against DTAs has no effect on the actual taxes paid or owed by the Company. We have recorded a valuation allowance against all of our U.S. federal and certain state DTAs as of both December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. We intend to continue maintaining a full valuation allowance on these DTAs until there is sufficient evidence to support the reversal of all or some portion of these allowances. However, given our current earnings and anticipated future earnings, we believe that there is a reasonable possibility that within the next 12 months, sufficient positive evidence may become available to allow us to reach a conclusion that a significant portion or all of the valuation allowance in the U.S. federal jurisdiction will no longer be needed. Release of the valuation allowance would result in the recognition of certain DTAs and a decrease to income tax expense for the period the release is recorded. However, the exact timing and amount of the valuation allowance release are subject to change on the basis of the level of profitability that we are able to actually achieve.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had $1.1 million and $0.6 million, respectively, of deferred tax liabilities relating to goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangibles net of the maximum benefit allowed under the statute after netting with the indefinite-lived DTAs.

The Company’s utilization of net operating loss (NOL) and the general business tax credit carryforwards may be subject to an annual limitation under Section 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), and similar state provisions due to ownership changes that may have occurred or that could occur in the future. These ownership changes may limit the amount of NOL and tax credit carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income and tax, respectively. In general, an ownership change, as defined by Section 382 and 383, results from transactions increasing ownership of certain stockholders or public groups in the stock of the corporation by more than 50 percentage points over a three-year period. The Company has completed a preliminary Section 382 analysis as of the date of this report and determined it is “more likely than not” that there have not been any of such greater-than-50% ownership changes within a three-year period during the last five years that would prohibit the Company from utilizing all of its tax attributes.

Management has made an annual analysis of its state and federal tax returns and concluded that the Company has no recordable liability, as of December 31, 2021 or 2020, for unrecognized tax benefits as a result of uncertain tax positions taken.

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state jurisdictions. The Company is generally not subject to examination for periods prior to December 31, 2018. However, as the Company utilizes its net operating losses, prior periods can be subject to examination.