Nine Months Ended

January 24,

2020

January 25,

2019

Effective tax rates

10.2

12.6

Our effective tax rates reflect the impact of a significant amount of our earnings, primarily income from our European operations, being taxed in foreign jurisdictions at rates below the United States (U.S.) statutory tax rate. The differences in effective tax rates for the nine months ended January 24, 2020 and January 25, 2019 were primarily due to discrete tax benefits, including lapses of statutes of limitations and tax on the sale of land in Sunnyvale, California in fiscal 2020, and the differences in discrete tax benefits for stock-based compensation and the adoption of the new revenue standard in fiscal 2019.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was enacted into law. The TCJA made significant changes to the U.S. corporate income tax system including a reduction of the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, the imposition of a one-time transition tax on deferred foreign earnings, and the creation of new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings. As of April 26, 2019, we had completed the accounting for the tax impacts of the TCJA, however, we will continue to assess the impact of further guidance from federal and state tax authorities on our business and consolidated financial statements, and recognize any adjustments in the period in which they are determined.

We recognized a $50 million discrete tax benefit related to the lapse of certain statutes of limitations in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. During fiscal 2019, we adopted the new revenue accounting standard and for the nine months ended January 25, 2019, we recognized a $34 million discrete tax benefit for adjustments to certain intercompany transactions resulting from the retrospective application of the new revenue accounting standard.

As of January 24, 2020, we had $187 million of gross unrecognized tax benefits. Inclusive of penalties, interest and certain income tax benefits, $165 million would affect our provision for income taxes if recognized, and $167 million has been recorded in other long-term liabilities.

We are currently undergoing state income tax audits in the U.S. and audits in several foreign tax jurisdictions. Transfer pricing calculations are key issues under audits in various jurisdictions, and are often subject to dispute and appeals. The IRS has concluded the examination of our tax returns for our fiscal years through 2013.

In September 2010, the Danish Tax Authorities issued a decision concluding that distributions declared in 2005 and 2006 by our Danish subsidiary were subject to Danish at-source dividend withholding tax. We do not believe that our Danish subsidiary is liable for such withholding tax and filed an appeal with the Danish Tax Tribunal. In December 2011, the Danish Tax Tribunal issued a ruling in favor of NetApp. The Danish tax examination agency appealed this decision at the Danish High Court (DHC) in March 2012. In February 2016, the DHC requested a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Parties were heard before the court in October 2017. In March 2018, the Advocate General issued an opinion which was largely in favor of NetApp. The CJEU was not bound by the opinion of the Advocate General and issued its preliminary ruling in February 2019. The CJEU ruling did not preclude the Danish Tax Authorities from imposing withholding tax on distributions based on the benefits of certain European Union directives. The preliminary ruling will be reviewed and may be subjected to additional briefing by the DHC. Once complete, the DHC will then issue its final decision. While the timing and outcome of a final decision on this matter is uncertain, we believe it is more likely than not that our distributions were not subject to withholding tax and we intend to vigorously defend any withholding tax claims by the Danish Tax Authorities.

We continue to monitor the progress of ongoing discussions with tax authorities and the impact, if any, of the expected expiration of the statute of limitations in various taxing jurisdictions. We believe that within the next 12 months, it is reasonably possible that either certain audits will conclude, certain statutes of limitations will lapse, or both. As a result of uncertainties regarding tax audits and their possible outcomes, an estimate of the range of possible impacts to unrecognized tax benefits in the next twelve months cannot be made at this time.