The (benefit) expense for income taxes consists of the following: 

The reconciliation between the Company’s effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate is as follows:

The components of deferred income tax assets and (liabilities) are as follows:

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) was signed into law, making significant changes to taxation of U.S. business entities. The Tax Act reduced the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, provided for accelerated deductions for capital asset additions, imposed limitations on certain tax deductions (e.g., meals & entertainment, executive compensation, interest, etc.), eliminated the corporate alternative minimum tax, and included numerous other provisions.

In connection with the Tax Act, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“SAB 118”) to provide guidance to companies that had not completed their accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act. Under SAB 118, companies were permitted to record provisional amounts to the extent reasonable estimates could be made. Additionally, upon obtaining, preparing, or analyzing additional information (including computations), companies were permitted to record additional tax effects and adjustments to previously recorded provisional amounts within one year from the enactment date of the Tax Act.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had recorded a provisional income tax benefit of $3.30 million, which was primarily associated with the remeasurement of certain deferred tax liabilities in the U.S. from 35.0% to 21.0%. As of December 31, 2017, a full valuation allowance was recorded against all net deferred tax assets, as these assets are more likely than not to be unrealized. As of December 31, 2018, the Company completed its accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act and concluded that no adjustment to the provisional estimate was required. 

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had subsidiaries that produced and sold cannabis or cannabis pure concentrates, subjecting the Company to the limits of Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 280E. Pursuant to IRC Section 280E, the Company is allowed only to deduct expenses directly related to sales of product. The State of California does not conform to IRC Section 280E and, accordingly the Company is allowed to deduct all operating expenses on its California income tax returns. As the Company files consolidated federal income tax returns, the taxable income generated from its subsidiaries subject to IRC Section 280E has been offset by losses generated by operations not subject to IRC Section 280E. During 2017, Company amended income tax returns of Black Oak for the periods prior to acquisition, which resulted in a net tax refund in 2017. Permanent tax differences include ordinary and necessary business expenses deemed by the Company as non-allowable deductions under IRC Section 280E; non-deductible expenses for interest, derivatives and warrant expense related to debt financings and non-deductible losses related to various acquisitions.

As of December 31, 2018, and 2017, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $42.78 million and $26.33 million, respectively, which, if unused, will expire beginning in the year 2034. These tax attributes are subject to an annual limitation from equity shifts, which constitute a change of ownership as defined under IRC Section 382, which will limit their utilization. The Company assessed the effect of these limitations and did not believe the losses through December 31, 2017 to be substantially limited. The Company has not completed a study through December 31, 2018 to assess whether an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code has occurred during 2018, due to the costs and complexities associated with such a study. The Company may have experienced various ownership changes, as defined by the Code, as a result of financing transactions. Accordingly, the Company's ability to utilize the aforementioned carryforwards may be limited. Additionally, U.S. tax laws limit the time during which these carryforwards may be applied against future taxes. Therefore, the Company may not be able to take full advantage of these carryforwards for federal or state income tax purposes.

Management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to use the existing deferred tax assets. A significant piece of objective negative evidence evaluated was the cumulative losses incurred through the period ended December 31, 2018. Such objective evidence limits the ability to consider other subjective evidence, such as our projections for future growth. On the basis of this evaluation, as of December 31, 2018, a valuation allowance of has been recorded against all net deferred tax assets as these assets are more likely than not to be unrealized. The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable, however, could be adjusted if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are reduced or increased or if objective negative evidence in the form of cumulative losses is no longer present and additional weight may be given to subjective evidence such as our projections for growth.

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and local jurisdictions. All tax years are subject to examination.