Income Taxes

Income tax expense on income from continuing operations was $11.3 million and $13.5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $20.8 million and $25.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Reform Act”) was signed into law by President Trump. The Tax Reform Act significantly revised the U.S. corporate income tax regime by, among other things, lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate from a top rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21% effective January 1, 2018, while also implementing elements of a territorial tax system and imposing a repatriation tax on deemed repatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries. The decreases in income tax expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 as compared to the corresponding periods in 2017 were primarily due to the reduction of the U.S. corporate tax rate as a result of the Tax Reform Act.

Due to the complexities involved in accounting for the Tax Reform Act, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“SAB 118”) allowed the Company to record provisional amounts in earnings for the year ended December 31, 2017. SAB 118 provides that where reasonable estimates can be made, the provisional accounting should be based on such estimates. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, there were no changes made to the provisional amounts recognized in 2017.

The Tax Reform Act subjects U.S. shareholders to a tax on global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) earned by certain foreign subsidiaries. Under U.S. GAAP, relating to GILTI, the Company is allowed to make an accounting policy choice to either (1) treat taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (2) factor such amounts into the Company’s measurement of deferred taxes (the “deferred method”). The Company has elected to treat taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income as a current period expense at June 30, 2018. The Company has reasonably estimated provisional amounts related to GILTI, based on current year operations only, and has included such amounts in its financial statements.

The Company will continue to analyze the effects of the Tax Reform Act, including the effects of GILTI, and additional impacts, if any. The impact of the Tax Reform Act may differ from the Company’s estimates, possibly materially, during the one-year measurement period due to, among other things, further refinement of the Company’s calculations, changes in interpretations and assumptions the Company has made, guidance that may be issued and actions the Company may take as a result of the Tax Reform Act.

The effective tax rates for the respective periods are shown below:



	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Federal provision	21.0	%	35.0	%	21.0	%	35.0	%
State provision	1.5	%	3.2	%	1.5	%	3.2	%
International provision⁽¹⁾	8.5	%	2.9	%	7.8	%	3.7	%
Permanent items	(0.5	)%	0.3	%	(0.1	)%	0.4	%
Other⁽²⁾	(1.0	)%	0.1	%	(1.1	)%	0.5	%
Effective rate	29.5	%	41.5	%	29.1	%	42.8	%

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(1)	Relates primarily to the lower tax rates attributable to international operations, and the impact of valuation allowances recorded on foreign loss jurisdictions.


(2)	Includes impact of discrete items.

In accordance with the authoritative guidance for income taxes, each interim period is considered an integral part of the annual period and tax expense or benefit is measured using an estimated annual effective income tax rate. The estimated annual effective tax rate for the full year is applied to the respective interim period, taking into account year-to-date amounts and projected amounts for the year. Since the Company operates in foreign countries with varying tax rates, the magnitude of the impact of the results the international operations has on the Company’s quarterly effective tax rate is dependent on the level of income or loss from the international operations in the period.

The Company’s subsidiary in Costa Rica is operating under a 100% tax holiday through December 31, 2026 and a 50% tax holiday for the subsequent four years. The impact of the tax holiday in Costa Rica for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, was immaterial.

The Company had gross unrecognized tax benefits, inclusive of penalties and interest, of $21.7 million at June 30, 2018. These unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, would result in a net tax benefit of $10.0 million as of June 30, 2018. The gross unrecognized tax benefits did not materially change from December 31, 2017.

Of the $181.7 million of cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2018, $150.6 million was held outside of the United States. Following the enactment of the Tax Reform Act and the associated transition tax, in general, repatriation of cash to the United States can be completed with no incremental U.S. tax. However, repatriation of cash could subject the Company to non-U.S. jurisdictional taxes on distributions. The Company maintains non-U.S. funds in its foreign operations to (i) provide adequate working capital, (ii) satisfy various regulatory requirements, and (iii) take advantage of business expansion opportunities as they arise. The non-U.S. jurisdictional taxes applicable to foreign earnings are not readily determinable or practicable. The Company continues to evaluate the impact of the Tax Reform Act on its election to indefinitely reinvest certain of its non-U.S. earnings. As of June 30, 2018, management believes that it has sufficient liquidity to satisfy its cash needs, including its cash needs in the United States.