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Income Taxes
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 24, 2023
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
THIRTEEN WEEKS ENDEDTHIRTY-NINE WEEKS ENDED
(dollars in thousands)SEPTEMBER 24, 2023SEPTEMBER 25, 2022SEPTEMBER 24, 2023SEPTEMBER 25, 2022
Income before (benefit) provision for income taxes$45,373 $38,613 $230,047 $82,092 
(Benefit) provision for income taxes$(58)$5,563 $21,186 $33,028 
Effective income tax rate(0.1)%14.4 %9.2 %40.2 %

The effective income tax rates for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 24, 2023 decreased by 14.5 and 31.0 percentage points, respectively, as compared to the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 25, 2022. These decreases were primarily due to the 2023 benefits of Brazil tax legislation, which includes a temporary reduction in the Brazilian income tax rate from 34% to 0%, and the 2023 income tax exemption on Brazil state
value added tax (“VAT”) benefits, as further discussed below. The decrease for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 24, 2023 was further impacted by the 2022 non-deductible losses associated with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase.

In September 2022, the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary received a preliminary injunction authorizing it to benefit from the exemptions enacted by Law 14,148/2021 which provides for emergency and temporary actions that grant certain industries a 100% exemption from income tax (IRPJ and CSLL) and federal value added taxes (PIS and COFINS) for a five-year period. The injunction was issued as part of an ongoing lawsuit initiated by the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary due to the uncertainty regarding the restaurant industry’s eligibility for the exemptions under this legislation.

In May 2023, Brazil enacted tax legislation that prospectively limits the Company’s ability to benefit from the 100% exemption from income tax (IRPJ and CSLL) and federal value added taxes (PIS and COFINS) for the full five-year period (the “May 2023 Brazil tax legislation”). As a result of this legislation, the Company expects to be subject to PIS and COFINS and CSLL beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023 and IRPJ beginning in 2024.

During the thirteen weeks ended September 24, 2023, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of approximately $2.9 million from a refund of prior year income tax in Brazil resulting from a recent ruling by the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice regarding a federal income tax exemption on certain state VAT benefits.

In the U.S., a restaurant company employer may claim a credit against its federal income taxes for FICA taxes paid on certain tipped wages (the “FICA tax credit”). The level of FICA tax credits is primarily driven by U.S. Restaurant sales and is not impacted by costs incurred that may reduce Income before (benefit) provision for income taxes.

The effective income tax rates for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 24, 2023 were lower than the Company’s blended federal and state statutory rate of approximately 26% primarily due to the benefit of FICA tax credits on certain tipped wages, benefits of Brazil tax legislation that include a temporary reduction in the Brazilian income tax rate from 34% to 0%, and the income tax exemption on Brazil state VAT benefits.

The effective income tax rate for the thirteen weeks ended September 25, 2022 was lower than the Company’s blended federal and state statutory rate of approximately 26% primarily due to the benefit of FICA tax credits on certain tipped wages.

The effective income tax rate for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 25, 2022 was higher than the statutory rate primarily due to the non-deductible losses associated with the 2025 Notes Partial Repurchase recorded during the thirty-nine weeks ended September 25, 2022.