
8.	INCOME TAXES

On December 22, 2017, Tax Reform was enacted, which resulted in significant changes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and was effective beginning on January 1, 2018. Tax Reform introduced significant and complex changes to the Code, and regulatory guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is needed in order to properly account for many of the changes. In response, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, “Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” that was codified through the issuance of ASU No. 2018-05 as described in Note 1, which requires that the effects of Tax Reform be recorded for items where the accounting is complete, as well as for items where a reasonable estimate can be made (referred to as provisional amounts). For items where reasonable estimates cannot be made, provisional amounts should not be recorded and those items would continue to be accounted for under the Code prior to changes from Tax Reform until a reasonable estimate can be made.

We recorded an overall income tax benefit of $1.9 billion associated with the effects of Tax Reform for the year ended December 31, 2017, and in accordance with ASU No. 2018-05, that benefit included provisional amounts associated with the one-time transition tax on the deemed repatriation of previously undistributed accumulated earnings and profits of our international subsidiaries. We also identified items where reasonable estimates could not be made at that time.

We did not revise our initial provisional estimate during the three months ended March 31, 2018, and we have not completed our accounting for the income tax effects of Tax Reform. We continue to gather additional information in order to revise our initial estimates and await regulatory guidance from the IRS. We anticipate this information and guidance will be available in the second half of 2018 and that any adjustments will be recorded at that time.

The lower effective tax rate during the three months ended March 31, 2018 is due to the reduction in the U.S. statutory income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent effective January 1, 2018 as a result of Tax Reform.