6Income Taxes

For the three months ended December 27, 2013 and December 28, 2012, the Company’s loss (earnings) before tax, tax (benefit) expense and effective income tax rate attributable to earnings before income taxes was as follows:



	Three Months Ended
	December 27		December 28
(thousands, except tax rate data)	2013		2012
(Loss) Income before income taxes	$	(2,920)	$	610
Income tax (benefit) expense	$	(727)	$	363
Effective income tax rate		24.9%		59.5%

The change in the Company’s effective tax rate for the three months ended December 27, 2013 versus the prior year period was primarily due to variances in income or loss as of December 27, 2013 for entities that have a valuation allowance. The tax jurisdictions that such entities were located in were as follows for the three month periods ended December 27, 2013 and December 28, 2012, respectively:



Three Months Ended
December 27		December 28
2013		2012

	Japan		Japan
	France		France
	Indonesia		Indonesia
	Italy		Italy
	Netherlands		Netherlands
	New Zealand		New Zealand
	Spain		Spain
	United Kingdom		United Kingdom

The Company would ordinarily recognize a tax expense or benefit on operating income or 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 2014 fiscal year tax expense is anticipated to include approximately $350 related to uncertain income tax positions.

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 October 3, 2014 of $100.

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. The following tax years remain subject to examination by the respective tax jurisdictions:


Jurisdiction	Fiscal Years
United States	2010-2013
Canada	2009-2013
France	2009-2013
Germany	2009-2013
Italy	2009-2013
Japan	2012-2013
Switzerland	2002-2013