14. INCOME TAXES  

Deferred taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and their bases for income tax purposes.  The deferred tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2017 includes additional deferred tax expense of $7,262 related to the revaluation of the Company’s net deferred tax assets resulting from the reduction in the federal corporate tax rate due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed by the President on December 22, 2017.  The deferred tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2015 includes additional deferred tax expense of $1,694 related to revaluation of the Company’s net deferred tax assets resulting from the reduction in the future statutory corporate tax rates and changes in methods of apportioning income in New York State & New York City.

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had a net deferred tax asset of $11,612 and $19,989, respectively.

A summary of deferred tax assets and liabilities as follows:

The following table reconciles the provision for income taxes to the U.S. Federal statutory tax rate:

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had net tax payables receivable of $701 which consisted of net federal and state and local tax payables of $662 and $39, respectively.  As of December 31, 2016, the Company had net tax refunds receivable of $2,625 which consisted of net federal and state and local tax refunds of $1,427 and $1,198, respectively.

Of the total net deferred taxes at December 31, 2017 and 2016, $92 and $95, respectively, of the net deferred tax liabilities relate to non-controlling interests. These amounts are included in deferred tax and other liabilities on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, respectively.  

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to examination by federal, state, and local tax regulators. As of December 31, 2017, the Company’s U.S. federal income tax returns for the years 2014 through 2016 are open under the normal three-year statute of limitations and therefore subject to examination.

The impact from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is incorporated in the 2017 financials. We do not view any items as provisional under SAB 118 and the Company has finalized its calculation of the impact of tax reform.

The guidance for accounting for uncertainty in income taxes prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The amount recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company does not believe that it has any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease within the next twelve months.  Furthermore, the Company does not have any material uncertain tax positions at December 31, 2017 and 2016.