Analysis Cases 16-8

Access the financial statements and related disclosure notes of Google Inc. from its website at investor.google.com. In Google's balance sheet, deferred income taxes in 2010 are reported as both a current asset ($259 million) and a noncurrent asset ($265 million) but none among liabilities.

Required:

Explain why deferred income taxes can be reported as both an asset and a liability. Is that the case for Google in 2010?

Note 15 in the disclosure notes indicates that deferred tax assets are $1,221 million in 2010 and deferred tax liabilities are $405 million. How can that be explained in light of the two amounts reported in the balance sheet?

Does Google feel the need to record a valuation allowance for its deferred tax assets?