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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes

Due to our organization in Bermuda and the ownership structure of our foreign subsidiaries, many of which are not owned directly or indirectly by a U.S. parent company, an immaterial amount of our foreign income is subject to U.S. taxation on a permanent basis under current law. Additionally, our intellectual property is largely owned by our foreign subsidiaries, resulting in proportionally higher earnings in jurisdictions with lower statutory tax rates, which decreases our overall effective tax rate.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) was enacted into law.  Among other changes, the Tax Act lowered the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% and established a modified territorial system requiring mandatory deemed repatriation tax on undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries.  The Tax Act also has an impact on certain executive compensation that is no longer deductible.

For interim periods, our income tax expense and resulting effective tax rate are based upon an estimated annual effective tax rate adjusted for the effects of items required to be treated as discrete to the period, including changes in tax laws, changes in estimated exposures for uncertain tax positions and other items.  We considered the provisions of the Tax Act in calculating the estimated annual effective tax rate.

We continue to apply the guidance in Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) and as of November 30, 2018, we have not completed the accounting for all the tax effects enacted under Tax Act. We made reasonable estimates of those effects during fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019 year-to-date.  We will continue to refine our estimates as additional guidance and information becomes available.

For the three months ended November 30, 2018, income tax expense as a percentage of income before income tax was 6.9% compared to 8.2% for the same period last year. The year-over-year decline in the effective tax rate is primarily due to shifts in the mix of taxable income in our various tax jurisdictions.
For the nine months ended November 30, 2018, income tax expense as a percentage of income before income tax was 7.2%, which included $0.7 million of tax benefits from share-based compensation settlements and a tax benefit of $0.8 million from the lapse of the statute of limitations related to an uncertain tax position. Income tax expense as a percentage of income before income tax was 5.1% for the same period last year, which included $2.6 million tax benefits from share-based compensation settlements and a tax benefit of $2.8 million related to the resolution of uncertain tax positions.

During fiscal 2017, we received an assessment from a state tax authority which adjusted taxable income applicable to the particular state resulting from interpretations of certain state income tax provisions applicable to our legal structure.  We believe we have accurately reported our taxable income and are vigorously protesting the assessment through administrative processes with the state.  We believe it is unlikely that the outcome of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.