Jaysenese pointed this out:
I think it's important to compare the 2014 Annual Report (from February 2015) to the 2015 Annual Report (released today). I have highlighted the significant differences between them in red. They are almost identical, except for an intriguing change of usage of the word 'subsidiaries':
2014 report reads:
WMIHC, together with its subsidiaries, may not be able to fully utilize our net operating loss (“NOL”) and other tax carry forwards.
As of December 31, 2012, WMIHC and its subsidiaries had U.S. federal NOLs of approximately $7.54 billion, of which approximately $5.97 billion was allocated to that portion of 2012 after the ownership change described below, that, if unused, will begin to expire in 2031. We believe that, as of December 31, 2014, WMIHC and its subsidiaries had NOLs not subject to limitation under Section 382 (“Section 382”) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) of approximately $6.00 billion. Both WMIHC and WMMRC caused 100 percent valuation allowances to be recorded against these deferred tax assets.
On the Effective Date, we believe that WMIHC and its subsidiaries experienced an “ownership change” within the meaning of Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. An ownership change is generally defined as a more than 50 percentage point increase in equity ownership by “5 percent shareholders” (as that term is defined for purposes of Sections 382 and 383 of the Code) in any three-year period or since the last ownership change if such prior ownership change occurred within the prior three-year period. As a result of the ownership change on the Effective Date, the limitations on the use of pre-change losses and other carry forward tax attributes in Sections 382 and 383 of the Code apply and WMIHC and its subsidiaries will only be able to utilize a small portion of their NOL carry forwards from the years prior to 2012 and the portion of the NOL for 2012 allocable to the portion of the year prior to March 20, 2012. The utilization of the NOL for 2012 allocable to the portion of the year after the Effective Date and the NOLs from subsequent years should not be affected by the ownership change on the Effective Date.
The ability of WMIHC and its subsidiaries, and any future subsidiary (including a subsidiary acquired in any Acquisition (as defined in the Designation of Rights and Preferences of the 3% Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Certificate of Designation”) creating the Series B Preferred Stock)), to utilize their NOLs and other tax carry forwards to reduce taxable income in future years may be limited for various reasons, including if projected future taxable income is insufficient to recognize the full benefit of such NOL carry forwards prior to their expiration and/or the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) challenges that a transaction or transactions were concluded with the principal purpose of evasion or avoidance of Federal income tax. There can be no assurance that we will have sufficient taxable income in later years to enable the Company to use the NOLs before they expire, or that the IRS will not challenge the use of the NOLs. Additionally, the ability of WMIHC and its subsidiaries (and any future subsidiary) to fully use these tax assets could also be adversely affected if the respective companies were deemed to have another “ownership change” within the meaning of Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Although we have certain transfer restrictions in place under our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the “Articles”), our Board of Directors could issue additional shares of stock or permit future conversions or redemptions of our stock, which, depending on their magnitude, could result in ownership changes that would trigger the imposition of additional limitations on the utilization of our NOLs under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that, in the future, WMIHC and/or its subsidiaries (and any future subsidiary) will be able to utilize its NOLs or not experience additional limitations on utilizing the tax benefits of their NOLs and other tax carry forwards. Such limitations could have a material adverse effect on WMIHC and/or its subsidiaries’ results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
In an attempt to minimize the likelihood of an additional ownership change occurring, our Articles contain transfer restrictions limiting the acquisition (and disposition) of our stock or any other instrument treated as stock for purposes of Section 382 by persons or group of persons treated as a single entity under Treasury Regulation Section 1.382-3 owning (actually or constructively), or who would own as a result of the transaction, 4.75 percent of the total value of our stock (including any other interests treated as stock for purposes of Section 382). Nevertheless, it is possible that we could undergo an additional ownership change, either by events within or outside of the control of our Board of Directors, e.g., indirect changes in the ownership of persons owning 5 percent of our stock. Also, in the event that the Second Lien Notes, are re-characterized as equity, transfers of such notes might be taken into account for purposes of Section 382 of the Code. Moreover, approximately 2.9 million shares of our Common Stock are held in escrow in the Disputed Equity Escrow (as defined in the Bankruptcy Plan). A subsequent release or transfer of the stock potentially could result in an ownership change of WMIHC at that time. In the event of a subsequent ownership change, all or part of the NOLs from 2012 and subsequent years that were previously unlimited could also become subject to an annual limitation.
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2015 report reads:
WMIH, together with its subsidiaries, may not be able to fully utilize our net operating loss (“NOL”) and other tax carry forwards.
As of December 31, 2012, WMIH and its subsidiaries had U.S. federal NOLs of approximately $7.54 billion, of which approximately $5.97 billion was allocated to that portion of 2012 after the ownership change described below, that, if unused, will begin to expire in 2031. We believe that, as of December 31, 2015, WMIH and its subsidiaries had NOLs not subject to limitation under Section 382 (“Section 382”) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) of approximately $6.0 billion. Both WMIH and WMMRC caused 100% valuation allowances to be recorded against these deferred tax assets.
On the Effective Date, we believe that we experienced an “ownership change” within the meaning of Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. An ownership change is generally defined as a more than 50 percentage point collective increase in equity ownership by
“5-percent shareholders” (as that term is defined for purposes of Sections 382 and 383 of the Code) in any rolling three-year period or since the last ownership change if such prior ownership change occurred within the prior three-year period. As a result of such ownership change on the Effective Date, the limitations on the use of pre-change losses and other carry forward tax attributes in Sections 382 and 383 of the Code apply and we will be able to utilize only a small portion of the NOL carry forwards from the years prior to 2012 and the portion of the NOL for 2012 allocable to the portion of the year prior to March 20, 2012. The utilization of the NOL for 2012 allocable to the portion of the year after the Effective Date and the NOLs from subsequent years should not be affected by the ownership change on the Effective Date.
Our ability (including any subsidiary or subsidiaries acquired in any Acquisition (as defined in the Designation of Rights and Preferences of the 3% Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Certificate of Designation”) creating the Series B Preferred Stock)), to utilize their NOLs and other tax carry forwards to reduce taxable income in future years could be limited for various reasons, including if projected future taxable income is insufficient to recognize the full benefit of such NOL carry forwards prior to their expiration and/or the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) challenges that a transaction or transactions were concluded with the principal purpose of evasion or avoidance of Federal income tax. There can be no assurance that we will have sufficient taxable income in later years to enable us to use the NOLs before they expire, or that the IRS will not challenge the use of all or any portion of the NOLs. Additionally, our ability (and the ability of any future subsidiary or subsidiaries) to fully use these tax assets could also be adversely affected if the respective companies were deemed to have another “ownership change” within the meaning of Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Although we have certain transfer restrictions in place under our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended, the “Certificate of Incorporation”), our Board of Directors could issue additional shares of stock or permit future conversions or redemptions of our stock, which, depending on their magnitude, could result in ownership changes that would trigger the imposition of additional limitations on the utilization of our NOLs under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that, in the future, WMIH and/or its subsidiaries (and any future subsidiary) will be able to utilize its NOLs or not experience additional limitations on utilizing the tax benefits of their NOLs and other tax carry forwards. Such limitations could have a material adverse effect on WMIH and/or its subsidiaries’ results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
In an attempt to minimize the likelihood of an additional ownership change occurring, our Certificate of Incorporation contains transfer restrictions limiting the acquisition (and disposition) of our stock or any other instrument treated as stock for purposes of Section 382 by persons or group of persons treated as a single entity under Treasury Regulation Section 1.382-3 owning (actually or constructively), or who would own as a result of the transaction, 4.75% of the total value of our stock (including any other interests treated as stock for purposes of Section 382). Nevertheless, it is possible that we could undergo an additional ownership change, either by events within or outside of the control of our Board, e.g., indirect changes in the ownership of persons owning 5% of our stock. Also, in the event that the Second Lien Notes are re-characterized as equity, transfers of Second Lien Notes might be taken into account for purposes of Section 382. Moreover, approximately 1.5 million shares of WMIH’s common stock are held in escrow in the Disputed Equity Escrow (as defined in the Plan). A subsequent release or transfer of the stock potentially could result in an ownership change of WMIH at that time. In the event of a subsequent ownership change, all or part of the NOLs from 2012 and subsequent years that were not previously subject to limitations under Section 382 could also become subject to an annual limitation.
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