<>General and administrative expenses at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 were as follows:
<>
Year Ended
December 31,
2011
Year Ended December 31, 2010
Year Ended December 31, 2009
Payroll and related costs
$ 7,211
$ 4,906
$ 3,745
Professional fees
3,000
3,685
3,081
Other expenses
3,451
3,619
2,289
<>
Total
$13,662
$12,210
$9,115
<>
<>NOTE 15: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
<>In connection with the acquisition of Horamar, the Company recorded liabilities for certain pre-acquisition contingencies amounting to $6,632 ($2,907 relating to VAT-related matters, $1,703 for withholding tax-related matters, $1,511 relating to provisions for claims and others and $511 for income tax-related matters) that were included in the allocation of the purchase price based on their respective fair values. As it relates to these contingencies, the prior owners of Horamar agreed to indemnify the Company in the event that any of the above contingencies materialize before agreed-upon dates, extending to various dates through January 2020. As of December 31, 2011, the remaining liability related to these pre-acquisition contingencies amounted to $2,764 ($4,674 in 2010; $6,003 in 2009) and was entirely offset by an indemnification asset for the same amount, which was reflected in other non-current assets.
<>As of December 31, 2010 the Company had issued a guarantee and indemnity letter that guaranteed the performance by Petrolera San Antonio S.A. (Petrosan) of all its obligations to Vitol S.A. (Vitol) up to $4,000. This guarantee expired on August 18, 2011.
<>On July 19, 2011 and in consideration of Gunvor S.A. entering into sales of oil or petroleum products with Petrosan, the Company has undertaken to pay to Gunvor S.A. on first demand any obligations arising directly from the non-fulfillment of said contracts. The guarantee did not exceed $1,500 and remained in full force and effect until December 31, 2011.
<>As of March 1, 2012 the Company issued a guarantee and indemnity letter that guaranteed the performance by Petrosan of all its obligations to Vitol up to $10,000. This guarantee expires on March 1, 2013.
<>The Company is subject to legal proceedings, claims and contingencies arising in the ordinary course of business. When such amounts can be estimated and the contingency is probable, management accrues the corresponding liability. While the ultimate outcome of lawsuits or other proceedings against the Company cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not believe the costs of such actions will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.
<>NOTE 16: INCOME TAXES
<>As indicated in Note 2(t), the Company is a Marshall Islands corporation. However, the Company is subject to tax in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, jurisdictions where certain of its subsidiaries operate. The Company’s operations in Panama and Uruguay are not taxed. The corporate income tax rate in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay is 35%, 34% and 10%, respectively for the year ended December 31, 2011.
<>The components of income before taxes in consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 are as follows:
<>
Year Ended
December 31,
2011
Year Ended December 31, 2010
Year Ended December 31, 2009
Argentina
$ (1,722 )
$ (4,608 )
$ (2,991 )
Paraguay
(3,158 )
(3,338 )
(6,122 )
Uruguay
11,933
15,218
14,981
Panama
(5,641 )
2,239
(980 )
Others
(1,281 )
(1,949 )
257
<>
Total Income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest
$236
$7,561
$5,145
<>
<>Income tax benefit/(expense) is comprised of:
<>
Year Ended
December 31,
2011
Year Ended December 31, 2010
Year Ended December 31, 2009
Current
$ (376 )
$ (737 )
$ (1,580 )
Deferred
2,638
1,743
2,956
<>
Total Argentina
$ 2,262
$ 1,006
$ 1,376
Current
$ (753 )
$ (580 )
$ (486 )
Deferred
(1,161 )
(490 )
764
<>
Total Paraguay
$ (1,914 )
$ (1,070 )
$ 278
<>
Total income tax benefit/(expense)
<>$ <>348
<>$ <>(64)
<>$ <>1,654
<>
<>A reconciliation between the income tax expense resulting from applying the Marshall Islands, Panamanian or Uruguayan statutory income tax rate and the reported income tax expense has not been presented herein, as it would not provide any additional useful information to the users of these consolidated financial statements, as the Company’s net income is subject to neither Marshall Islands, Panama nor Uruguay tax.
<>A reconciliation between the income tax expense resulting from applying the Brazilian or Paraguayan statutory income tax rate and the reported income tax expense has not been presented herein since these amounts are not material to the consolidated financial statements.
<>Reconciliation of income tax benefit to taxes calculated based on Argentinean statutory tax rate is as follows:
<>
Year Ended
December 31,
2011
Year Ended December 31, 2010
Year Ended December 31, 2009
Income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest
<>At December 31, 2011, Argentinean subsidiaries had accumulated benefit from tax loss carry-forward (“NOLs”) for a consolidated total of $1,744 ($435 in 2010) that expires mainly in 2015. The use of the NOLs and MPIT will depend upon future taxable income in Argentina.
<>The components of deferred income taxes included on the balance sheets were as follows:
<>As of December 31, 2011, the future minimum revenue, net of commissions (where applicable), expected to be earned on non-cancelable time charters, COA’s with minimum guaranteed volumes and contracts with minimum guaranteed throughput in the company’s ports were as follows: