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Income Taxes
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 30, 2023
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income taxes
The income tax provision (benefit) consists of:
In thousandsFiscal Year 2023Fiscal Year 2022Fiscal Year 2021
Current income tax:
Federal$6,880 $2,829 $138 
State3,246 4,838 4,242 
Deferred income tax:
Federal(3,878)11,079 15,015 
State(2,111)(55)1,686 
Income tax provision (benefit)$4,137 $18,691 $21,081 
Our income tax provision (benefit) differs from the amounts computed by multiplying earnings (loss) before income taxes by the statutory federal income tax rate as shown in the following table:
In thousandsFiscal Year 2023Fiscal Year 2022Fiscal Year 2021
Federal income tax provision at statutory rate$(12,970)$12,771 $31,358 
State income tax provision, net of federal income tax1,305 3,527 7,130 
Increase (decrease) in deferred tax asset valuation allowance 2,238 477 (441)
Executive compensation limitation354 1,218 283 
Goodwill impairment
12,614 — — 
Stranded tax effect of matured interest rate swaps— — (2,125)
Tax provision (benefit) of equity-based compensation deductions
1,211 (27)(14,408)
Other, net(615)725 (716)
Net income tax provision (benefit)$4,137 $18,691 $21,081 
Effective income tax rate(6.7)%30.7 %14.1 %
The tax legislation signed into law on December 22, 2017 makes broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code including, but not limited to: (1) reducing the U.S. federal rate from 35% to 21%, effective January 1, 2018; (2) eliminating the corporate alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) and changing how the credits can be realized; (3) creating new limitations on deductions for interest expense; (4) changing rules related to limitations of net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards, and (5) enhancing and extending through 2026 the option to claim accelerated depreciation deductions on qualified property.
In August 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) which, among other things, provides for a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax based on a prescribed measure of income as well as a 1% excise tax on stock repurchases made after December 31, 2022.
The sources of the differences between the financial accounting and tax bases of our assets and liabilities that give rise to the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities and the tax effects of each are as follows:
In thousandsAs of
December 30, 2023		As of
December 31, 2022
Deferred tax assets:
NOL carry-forwards$7,399 $5,708 
Credit carryforwards
267 547 
Deferred revenue5,984 6,376 
Accrued expenses and reserves13,344 10,233 
Loss on equity and other investments 888 899 
Stock-based compensation6,050 5,214 
Operating lease liabilities119,916 115,870 
Subtotal153,848 144,847 
Valuation allowances(5,760)(3,522)
Total net deferred tax assets148,088 141,325 
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation of property and equipment(61,118)(59,446)
Amortization of intangible assets(68,729)(70,946)
Unrealized gains on hedging instruments(1,407)(3,568)
Right of use asset(101,780)(97,954)
Other(2,938)(3,281)
Total deferred tax liabilities(235,972)(235,195)
Net deferred tax liabilities$(87,884)$(93,870)
As of fiscal year end 2023, our consolidated VIEs had available U.S. federal NOL carry-forwards aggregating to $21.7 million that can be utilized to reduce future federal income taxes, of which $21.6 million of carry-forward losses do not expire and $0.1 million of carry-forward losses expire at the end of fiscal year 2037. We believe it is more likely than not that we will realize a tax benefit for these NOL’s in the future except for $18.1 million of NOL carry-forwards ($3.8 million tax effected) on certain consolidated VIEs where we recognized a full valuation allowance as of fiscal year end 2023. In addition, we have NOL carry-forwards in varying amounts and with varying expiration dates in various states in which we operate.
For the fiscal year end 2023, we have no federal credits remaining, but carry various state tax credits totaling $0.3 million are available to offset certain future taxes. These state credits carry a valuation allowance of $0.2 million as we do not expect to be able to utilize them in future tax years.
We have a $0.9 million deferred income tax asset for capital losses associated with the losses realized on the sale of our equity method non-consolidated investee and other investments. We do not expect to generate significant capital gains in the near future. Therefore, we believe it is more likely than not that we will not realize a tax benefit for the majority of these deferred income tax assets, and accordingly we have established a full valuation allowance for the amount deemed unrealizable.
As a result of our utilization of NOL carry-forwards to reduce or eliminate subsequent years’ tax obligations, our federal and a substantial number of our state income tax returns for fiscal years 2001 through 2023 remain open for examination by the tax authorities.
The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions using a “more-likely-than-not” threshold and recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by tax authorities. The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis and considers various factors, including, but not limited to, changes in tax law, the measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in tax returns, the effective settlement of matters subject to audit, information obtained during in-process audit activities and changes in facts or circumstances related to a tax position.