6Income Taxes

For the three months ended December 28, 2012 and December 30, 2011, the Company’s effective income tax rate attributable to earnings before income taxes was 59.5% and 5.1%, respectively. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, the Company recognized a tax expense of $363 on income before income tax of $610. The increase in the Company’s effective tax rate for the three months ended December 28, 2012 versus the prior year period was primarily due to the lack of tax benefit available at December 28, 2012 for entities that have a valuation allowance, primarily in non-U.S. tax jurisdictions.

During the three months ended December 28, 2012, the Company continued to maintain a valuation allowance in Japan, Italy, Spain, Indonesia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France. The Company would ordinarily recognize a tax expense/benefit on operating income/loss in these jurisdictions; however, due to the recent cumulative losses for book purposes and the uncertainty of the realization of certain deferred tax assets in these jurisdictions, the Company continues to adjust its valuation allowances resulting in effectively no recorded tax expense or benefit in these jurisdictions.

The Company regularly assesses the adequacy of its provisions for income tax contingencies in accordance with the applicable authoritative guidance on accounting for income taxes. As a result, the Company may adjust the reserves for unrecognized tax benefits for the impact of new facts and developments, such as changes to interpretations of relevant tax law, assessments from taxing authorities, settlements with taxing authorities, and lapses of statutes of limitation. The Company’s 2013 fiscal year tax expense is anticipated to include approximately $200 related to uncertain income tax positions.

In January 2013, the United States Congress voted in favor of extending the federal research and development tax credit through December 31, 2013. As a result, we expect that our income tax provision for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 will include a discrete tax benefit which will reduce the effective tax rate for the quarter and to a lesser extent, reduce the Company’s effective annual tax rate.

In accordance with its accounting policy, the Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. The Company is projecting accrued interest, for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 27, 2013, of $125, which includes the impact of a reversal of $129 due to the closure of the tax audit in Italy.

The Company files income tax returns, including returns for its subsidiaries, with federal, state, local and foreign taxing jurisdictions. The Company is currently undergoing an income tax examination in Italy for the 2011 tax year. The following tax years remain subject to examination by the respective tax jurisdictions:


Jurisdiction	Fiscal Years
United States	2009-2012
Canada	2008-2012
France	2009-2012
Germany	2009-2012
Italy	2009-2012
Japan	2012
Switzerland	2002-2012