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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Mar. 29, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
Our effective tax rate varies from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due to results of foreign operations that are subject to income taxes at different statutory rates, certain jurisdictions where we cannot recognize tax benefits on current losses, and tax benefit from release of valuation allowance. During interim periods, we accrue tax expenses for jurisdictions that are anticipated to be profitable for fiscal 2019.
The determination of our income taxes for the nine months ended March 29, 2019 and March 30, 2018 was based on our estimated annual effective tax rate adjusted for losses in certain jurisdictions for which no tax benefit can be recognized. Our tax benefit for the three and nine months ended March 29, 2019 was primarily due to the release of certain U.S. federal, state, and foreign valuation allowances. The tax benefit for the nine months ended March 30, 2018 was primarily attributable to the foreign tax refunds received from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) of $1.3 million and the release of a valuation allowance related to the refundable AMT credit of $3.3 million, as provided under the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Tax Act), offset by tax expense related to profitable subsidiaries.
Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon future earnings in applicable tax jurisdictions. In the past, due to our U.S. operating losses in previous years and continuing U.S. earnings volatility which did not allow sustainable profitability, we had established and maintained a full valuation allowance for our U.S. deferred tax assets. While there has been a trend of positive evidence that has been strengthening in recent years, it was not sufficiently persuasive to outweigh the negative evidence in future periods. During the third quarter of fiscal 2019, we are anticipating our third consecutive profitable year from a U.S. pre-tax book income perspective. Accordingly, during the period, we determined that it is more likely than not that we will realize a portion of our U.S. deferred tax assets, primarily relating to certain net operating loss carryforwards and current temporary differences. The positive evidence as of March 29, 2019, which outweighed the negative evidence to release a portion of the valuation allowance, included our fiscal 2019 and three-year cumulative U.S. profitability driven by continued demand for our products in North America that have historically resulted in higher margins than international sales, reductions in operating expenses resulting from our previous restructurings, and our forecasted U.S. operating profits in future periods. The negative evidence primarily relates to certain net operating loss carryforwards and credits that are expected to expire prior to utilization. We believe that our positive evidence is strong. The improved financial performance as it relates to U.S. profitability in recent years is an objectively verifiable piece of positive evidence and is the result of a number of factors which have been present to a greater or lesser extent in prior years but have only recently gathered sufficient weight to deliver objectively verifiable, consistent U.S. pre-tax book profits. In performing our analysis, we used the most updated plans and estimates that we currently use to manage the underlying business and calculated the utilization of our deferred tax assets. Accordingly, during the third quarter of fiscal 2019, we released $7.1 million of valuation allowance as a discrete item on certain deferred tax assets. The remaining valuation allowance relates to deferred tax assets, for which we believe it is not more likely than not to be realized in future periods. Our valuation allowance decreased from the prior year by approximately $7.1 million.
Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent on generating sufficient pre-tax book income in future periods. Although we believe it is more likely than not that future income will be sufficient to allow us to recover the value of a portion of our U.S. deferred tax assets, realization is not assured and future events could cause us to change our judgment. If future events cause us to conclude that it is not more likely than not that we will be able to recover more or less of the current anticipated portion of deferred tax assets, we would be required to either decrease or increase the valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets at that time, which would result in a charge to income tax expense (benefit) and a material increase or decrease in net income in the period in which we change our judgment.
We entered into a tax sharing agreement with Harris Corporation (Harris) effective on January 26, 2007, the acquisition date of Stratex. The tax sharing agreement addresses, among other things, the settlement process associated with pre-merger tax liabilities and tax attributes that were attributable to the Microwave Communication Division when it was a division of Harris. There have been no settlement payments recorded since the acquisition date.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2019, we received notification from the Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil that our withholding tax refund request had been approved. We recorded a net discrete income tax benefit of $1.6 million for the release of valuation allowance previously recorded as a deferred tax asset for the withholding tax credits. This consisted of an income tax benefit of $1.9 million for the refundable withholding tax credit, less tax expense of $0.3 million from recognizing an ASC 740-10 reserve previously recorded as a reduction to the withholding tax credits. During the three months ended December 28, 2018, we reduced the refundable withholding tax credit to $1.8 million, primarily due to foreign exchange differences, and recorded a discrete income tax expense of $0.1 million.
We have a number of open income tax audits covering various tax years, which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Our major tax jurisdictions where audits are pending include Singapore, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. The earliest years that are open and subject to potential audits are as follows: U.S. - 2003; Singapore - 2011; Nigeria - 2006: Saudi Arabia - 2010, and Ivory Coast - 2016.
We account for interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as part of our provision for federal, foreign and state income taxes. Such interest expense was not material for the three and nine months ended March 29, 2019 and March 30, 2018.
On December 22, 2017, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 118, which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, a company must reflect the income tax effects of those aspects of the Tax Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is complete. To the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate in its financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in its financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the Tax Act.
In connection with our initial analysis of the impact of the Tax Act, we recorded provisional estimates related to the remeasurement of deferred taxes and the Deemed Repatriation Transition Tax in our financial statements for our fiscal year ended June 29, 2018. The measurement period ended in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. As of December 28, 2018, we have completed the accounting for the impact of the Tax Act based on the guidance, interpretations, and data available. No adjustments to these provisional estimates have been recorded. Although the measurement period has closed, the accounting for the impact of the Tax Act may change to account for additional factors such as the issuance of further regulatory guidance, changes in interpretations, the collection and analysis of additional information, and any deferred adjustments related to the filing of our 2017 federal and state income tax returns. In accordance with ASC 740, we will recognize any additional effects of the guidance in income tax expense (benefit) in the period that such guidance is issued.
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the Tax Act introduced new provisions of U.S. taxation of certain Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI). As of March 29, 2019, we have not yet determined our policy election with respect to whether to record deferred taxes for temporary basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI in future periods, or account for taxes on GILTI using the period cost method. However, we do not expect to generate a GILTI inclusion due to a forecasted overall net loss for our foreign subsidiaries.