Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Income Taxes

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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes

The Company recognized an income tax provision from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2017 of $29.8 million and $24.2 million, respectively, which included a net charge of $5.4 million and a net benefit of $5.6 million, respectively. The net charge of $5.4 million is primarily associated with updates related to 2017 tax reform. The net benefit of $5.6 million primarily relates to net excess tax benefits related to share-based compensation. The effective tax rate from continuing operations, which is calculated as the income tax provision as a percentage of pre-tax income, for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2017 was 27.0 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively.

On December 22, 2017, tax legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law. The TCJA made significant changes to the U.S. tax code effective for 2018, with certain provisions having impacted the Company’s 2017 financial results. The changes that impacted 2017 included, but were not limited to, the write-down of deferred tax assets resulting from the lowering of the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, imposing a one-time repatriation tax on certain unremitted earnings of foreign subsidiaries, and bonus depreciation that allowed for immediate full expensing of qualified property. The TCJA also established new corporate tax laws that are effective in 2018 but did not impact the Company’s 2017 financial results. These 2018 changes include, but are not limited to, lowering the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate, a general elimination of U.S. federal income taxes on dividends from foreign subsidiaries, a new tax on global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) net of allowable foreign tax credits, a new deduction for foreign derived intangible income (FDII), the repeal of the domestic production activity deduction, new limitations on the deductibility of certain executive compensation and interest expense, and limitations on the use of foreign tax credits to reduce the U.S. federal income tax liability.

Due to the complexities involved in accounting for the enactment of the TCJA, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 118 which provided guidance on accounting for the income tax effects of the TCJA. SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the TCJA enactment date to complete the accounting for the impact of the TCJA. SAB 118 allowed the Company to provide provisional estimates of the impact of the TCJA in our financial statements for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017. Accordingly, based on information and IRS guidance available as of the year ended December 31, 2017, we recorded a discrete net tax expense of $71.8 million in the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017. This expense consisted primarily of a net expense of $56.5 million for the write down of our net deferred tax assets due to the U.S. corporate income tax rate reduction and a net expense of $15.3 million for the one-time deemed repatriation tax. On the basis of updated guidance from the IRS and updates to our calculations, for the period ended March 31, 2018, we recorded an additional discrete tax expense of $7.0 million primarily related to the one-time deemed repatriation tax. The Company has not completed its accounting for the income tax effects of the TCJA and the provisional amounts will continue to be refined as needed during the measurement period allowed by SAB 118. While the Company has made reasonable estimates of the impact of the U.S. corporate income tax rate reduction and the one-time deemed repatriation tax on unremitted earnings of foreign subsidiaries, these estimates could change as the Company completes its 2017 consolidated federal income tax return which could adjust deferred tax balances, refines its calculations of earnings and profits which could impact the repatriation tax calculation, and analyzes new IRS guidance related to the TCJA.

The TCJA created a new requirement that certain income (commonly referred to as "GILTI") earned by controlled foreign corporations (CFC’s) must be included currently in the gross income of the CFC’s U.S. shareholder. Because of the complexity of the new GILTI tax rules we are continuing to evaluate this provision of the TCJA. Under U.S. GAAP, we are allowed to make an accounting policy choice of either (1) treating taxes due on U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (2) factoring such amounts into the Company’s measurement of its deferred taxes (the “deferred method”). Our selection of an accounting policy with respect to the new GILTI tax rules will depend, in part, on analyzing our global income to determine whether we expect to have future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI and, if so, what the impact is expected to be. Whether we expect to have future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI depends not only on our current structure and estimated future results of global operations but also our intent and ability to modify our structure and/or our business. For the period ended March 31, 2018, the Company has included an estimate of the GILTI tax as a current period tax expense in the Company’s annualized effective tax rate. However, we have not yet made a policy choice regarding whether to record deferred taxes on GILTI.

The Company will continue to analyze the effects of the TCJA on its financial statements and operations. Additional impacts from the enactment of the TCJA will be recorded as they are identified during the measurement period as allowed by SAB 118.

No deferred income taxes have been provided as of March 31, 2018, December 31, 2017 or April 1, 2017 on the applicable undistributed earnings of the non-U.S. subsidiaries where the indefinite reinvestment assertion has been applied. If at some future date these earnings cease to be indefinitely reinvested and are repatriated, the Company may be subject to additional U.S. income taxes and foreign withholding taxes on such amounts. The Company continues to provide deferred taxes, as required, on the undistributed net earnings of foreign subsidiaries and unconsolidated affiliates that are not deemed to be indefinitely reinvested in operations outside the United States.

As of March 31, 2018, December 31, 2017 and April 1, 2017, the Company had $2.8 million, $2.3 million and $4.2 million of gross unrecognized tax benefits, including interest, respectively. The Company believes it is reasonably possible that the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits as of March 31, 2018 could decrease by approximately $0.9 million in the next 12 months due to settlements with taxing authorities or lapses in the applicable statute of limitations. Due to the various jurisdictions in which the Company files tax returns and the uncertainty regarding the timing of the settlement of tax audits, it is possible that there could be significant changes in the amount of unrecognized tax benefits in 2018, but the amount cannot be estimated.

The Company is regularly audited by federal, state and foreign tax authorities. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has completed its field examination and has issued its Revenue Agents Report through the 2012 tax year and all open issues have been resolved. The Company is currently open to tax examinations by the IRS for the 2014 through 2016 tax years and the IRS field examination of the 2014 tax year is complete. Primarily as a result of filing amended returns, which were generated by the closing of federal income tax audits, the Company is still open to state and local tax audits in major tax jurisdictions dating back to the 2012 taxable year. The Company is no longer subject to income tax examinations by any major foreign tax jurisdiction for years prior to 2013.