U.S. Tax Reform
On December 22, 2017, legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Act, was signed in to law. The Tax Act, among other changes, reduces the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, requires taxpayers to pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creates new taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings. On December 31, 2017, the Company did not have any foreign subsidiaries and the international aspects of the Tax Act are not applicable.
In connection with the initial analysis of the impact of the Tax Act, the Company remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 26.1%. The remeasurement of the Company’s deferred tax balance was primarily offset by application of its valuation allowance.
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary difference between amounts recorded for financial reporting purposes and amounts used for tax purposes. The major components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:
| 2017 | 2016 | ||||||||
| Deferred tax assets: | |||||||||
| Net operating loss carryforward | $ | 2,281,369 | $ | 87,614 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation | 131,465 | - | |||||||
| Total deferred income taxes | 2,412,834 | 87,614 | |||||||
| Deferred tax liabilities: | |||||||||
| Basis difference in property and equipment | 114,150 | - | |||||||
| Basis difference in goodwill | 32,190 | - | |||||||
| Debt discount-private placement | 116,840 | 78,430 | |||||||
| Total deferred tax liabilities | 263,180 | 78,430 | |||||||
| Net deferred tax asset | 2,149,654 | 9,184 | |||||||
| Valuation allowance | (2,149,654 | ) | (87,614 | ) | |||||
| Net deferred tax asset (liability) | $ | - | $ | (78,430 | ) | ||||
A reconciliation of the statutory U.S. Federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate on income tax rate on continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.
| 2017 | 2016 | ||||||
| U.S. Federal statutory rate | 34.0% | 34.0% | |||||
| Impact of tax reform on net deferred tax assets | (13.0) | - | |||||
| State and local, net of Federal benefit | 5.1% | 6.0% | |||||
| Valuation allowance | (26.1)% | (39.9)% | |||||
| Effective tax rate | - | 0.01% | |||||
No current provision for Federal income taxes was required for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 due to the Company’s operating losses. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company has operating loss carryforwards of $8,740,879 and $230,564, respectively, which begin to expire in 2033. We have provided a valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets of $2,149,654 and $87,614 for the periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. In assessing the recovery of the deferred tax assets, management considers 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 in the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversals of future deferred tax assets, projected future taxable income, and tax planning strategies in making this assessment.