10. Income Taxes

The provision (benefit) for income taxes was as follows:

	For the Three Months Ended						For the Nine Months Ended
	March 25, 2018			March 26, 2017			March 25, 2018			March 26, 2017
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	946		$	831		$	(684	)	$	6,481
Effective tax rate		84.3	%		8.3	%		(3.4	)%		22.2	%

H.R. 1, formerly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was enacted on December 22, 2017. H.R. 1 includes significant changes to existing tax law, including a permanent reduction to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, a one-time mandatory deemed repatriation of foreign earning and profits (the “toll charge”), deductions, credits and business-related exclusions.

The permanent reduction to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% was effective January 1, 2018. When a U.S. federal tax rate change occurs during a fiscal year, taxpayers are required to compute a weighted daily average rate for the fiscal year of enactment. As a result of H.R. 1, UNIFI has calculated a U.S. federal corporate income tax rate of 28.27% for its fiscal 2018 tax year.

The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 25, 2018 is higher than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily due to an increase in the valuation allowance for the Company’s investment in PAL, the rate change impact on a U.S. net loss carryforward generated in the current period that will be used at a lower tax rate in the future, and additional limitations on the deductibility of compensation under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended (the “IRC”).

The effective tax rate for the nine months ended March 25, 2018 is lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily due to the one-time tax benefit resulting from the revaluation of UNIFI’s domestic deferred tax balances for the lower U.S. statutory tax rate, the release of a valuation allowance on certain historical net operating losses (“NOLs”) and foreign income being taxed at lower rates. These benefits were partially offset by a provisional amount for the toll charge, net of foreign tax credits, and losses in tax jurisdictions for which no tax benefit can currently be recognized.

The effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended March 26, 2017 are lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily due to foreign income being taxed at lower rates and a decrease in the valuation allowance for the Company’s investment in PAL, partially offset by losses in tax jurisdictions for which no tax benefit could be recognized and state and local income taxes net of federal benefits. Additionally, the effective tax rates for the three months and nine months ended March 26, 2017 include the benefit of increased research and development credits, partially offset by a corresponding reduction in the domestic production activities deduction.

UNIFI revalued its measurable deferred tax balances based upon the new tax rate at which the temporary differences and carryforwards are expected to reverse. UNIFI recorded a tax benefit of approximately $4,500 as a result of the net change in deferred tax balances. UNIFI determined that the impact of the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate change on the U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities is provisional because the number cannot be calculated until the underlying timing differences are known rather than estimated.

Specific to the toll charge, UNIFI has recorded a $1,600 provisional charge, net of foreign tax credits, based on the following estimates: (i) earnings and profits of foreign jurisdictions that will not be complete until the end of fiscal 2018, (ii) the aggregate cash position at June 24, 2018 and (iii) finalization of taxes paid in foreign jurisdictions. Additionally, the estimates have been made based on UNIFI’s interpretation of H.R. 1. The U.S. Treasury has indicated in Notice 2018-07 and Notice 2018-26 that it expects to issue further guidance to clarify certain technical aspects of H.R. 1, which could impact UNIFI’s computations and provisional amounts recorded.

During the three months ended March 25, 2018, UNIFI recorded a $100 decrease to the provisional amount of the toll charge, net of foreign tax credits and valuation allowance, which created an effective rate benefit of less than one percent. The measurement period adjustments are primarily due to refined estimates based on guidance issued by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury during the quarter.

Within the calculation of the annual effective tax rate, UNIFI has used assumptions and estimates that may change as a result of future guidance, interpretation, and rulemaking from the Internal Revenue Service, the SEC, the FASB and/or various other taxing authorities. For example, UNIFI anticipates that state taxing authorities will continue to determine and announce their conformity to H.R. 1 which could have an impact on UNIFI’s annual effective tax rate.

UNIFI continues to review the anticipated impacts of the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) and base erosion anti-abuse tax (“BEAT”), which are not effective until fiscal 2019. UNIFI has not recorded any impact associated with either GILTI or BEAT.

UNIFI has recorded all known and estimable impacts of H.R. 1 that are effective for fiscal 2018. Future adjustments to the provisional numbers will be recorded as discrete adjustments to income tax expense in the period in which those adjustments become estimable and/or are finalized.

UNIFI regularly assesses the outcomes of both completed and ongoing examinations to ensure that UNIFI’s provision for income taxes is sufficient. Certain returns that remain open to examination have utilized carryforward tax attributes generated in prior tax years, including NOLs, which could potentially be revised upon examination.

UNIFI also regularly assesses whether it is more-likely-than-not that some portion or all of its deferred tax assets will not be realized. UNIFI considers the scheduled reversal of taxable temporary differences, taxable income in carryback years, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. Since UNIFI operates in multiple jurisdictions, the assessment is made on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, taking into account the effects of local tax law. Due to new facts and circumstances in the second quarter of fiscal 2018, UNIFI has determined it can utilize certain NOLs to offset future taxable income and has reduced the corresponding valuation allowance by $3,807. There was also a reduction to valuation allowances on U.S. deferred tax assets in the prior quarter as a result of the lower U.S. statutory tax rate under H.R. 1. UNIFI has increased the valuation allowance for foreign tax credits generated by the toll charge that cannot be claimed in the year of the mandatory repatriation.

The components of UNIFI’s deferred tax valuation allowance are as follows:

	March 25, 2018			June 25, 2017
Investment in a former domestic unconsolidated affiliate	$	(3,958	)	$	(6,269	)
Equity-method investment in PAL		(1,248	)		(1,520	)
Certain losses carried forward ⁽¹⁾		(1,548	)		(5,924	)
State NOLs		(108	)		(108	)
Other foreign NOLs⁽²⁾		(2,836	)		(3,347	)
Foreign tax credits		(1,836	)		(789	)
Total deferred tax valuation allowance	$	(11,534	)	$	(17,957	)

(1)	Certain U.S. NOLs and capital losses outside the U.S. consolidated tax filing group.

(2)	Presented net of certain NOL carryforward deferred tax assets.