NOTE 16 – INCOME TAX

Deferred taxes are provided on a liability method whereby deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences and operating loss and tax credit carry forwards and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Tax calculations assume a U.S. federal income tax rate of 21% and California tax rate of 8.84%.

Net deferred tax assets consist of the following components as of December 31:

SCHEDULE OF DEFERRED TAX ASSETS  

The income tax provision for the years ended December 31 are comprised of:

SCHEDULE OF INCOME TAX PROVISION  

The income tax provision differs from the amount of income tax determined by applying the U.S. federal and effective state income tax rates to pretax income from operations for the years ended December 31, due to the following:

SCHEDULE OF EFFECTIVE INCOME RATE RECONCILIATION  

At December 31, 2023, the Company had net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $81,392,000 including approximately $19,171,000 from periods prior to 2017 that may be offset against future taxable income through 2032. Net operating losses from 2017 and later carry an indefinite life. At December 31, 2023, the Company had state net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $60,688,000 that may be offset against future taxable income through 2032. No tax expense or benefit has been reported in the December 31, 2022 or 2021 consolidated financial statements since the potential tax benefit is offset by a valuation allowance of the same amount. The Company's valuation allowance increased by $15,273,000 and decreased by $480,037 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Due to the change in ownership provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, net operating loss carry forwards for federal income tax reporting purposes are subject to annual limitations. Should a change in ownership occur, net operating loss carry forwards may be limited as to use in future years. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2019.

Federal and state tax laws impose significant restrictions on the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards in the event of a change in ownership of the Company, as defined by Internal Revenue Code Section 382 (Section 382).  As of December 31, 2022, the Company has not performed a formal Section 382 study; however, the Company has reviewed its temporary taxable differences in conjunction with its temporary deductible differences as a measure against its definite lived net operating losses and anticipates any impact to be mitigated with additional net operating losses from temporary deductible differences.

The Company acquired approximately $44.3 million in net operating loss carryforwards as a result of its 2023 acquisition of Soylent.The Company also acquired approximately $14.4 million and $17.8 million in net operating loss carryforwards as a result of its 2022 acquisitions of AOS and Skylar, respectively. The Company believes the future benefit of those net operating losses are limited due to the change of ownership provisions under IRC 382.