Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

In October 2022, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice issued a motion of clarification that certain tax incentives provided by local governments can be excluded from taxable income. In the fourth quarter of 2022, we filed an action for a right to recover previously taxable, local government tax incentives granted during fiscal years 2018 to 2022. As our recovery is probable, we recorded a $27 million income tax benefit, which we expect to recover by the end of 2027. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had $32 million and $27 million, respectively, of remaining tax incentives recorded within Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

In May 2021, the Brazilian Supreme Court (“Court”) issued its ruling related to the calculation of certain indirect taxes (referred as “Brazil indirect tax matters” in these financial statements), which affirmed the Brazil Federal Court of Appeals (“Lower Court”) rulings that we had received in previous years and affirmed that we are entitled to previously recorded tax credits. The Court ruling ensured that we are entitled to $15 million of additional credits from the period of 2015 to 2018 that was previously unrecorded pending a final Court ruling. We recorded the $15 million of additional credits in 2021 within Other operating (income) expense in the Consolidated Statements of Income. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had $5 million and $17 million, respectively, of remaining indirect tax credits recorded in Other assets and Prepaid expenses and assets held for sale on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We will use the income tax offsets to eliminate our Brazilian federal tax payments in 2024, including the income tax payable for the indirect taxes recovered.

We are currently subject to claims and suits arising in the ordinary course of business, including labor matters, certain environmental proceedings and other commercial claims. We also routinely receive inquiries from regulators and other government authorities relating to various aspects of our business, including with respect to compliance with laws and regulations relating to the environment, and at any given time we have matters at various stages of resolution with the applicable governmental authorities. The outcomes of these matters are not within our complete control and may not be known for prolonged periods of time. We do not believe that the results of currently known legal proceedings and inquires will be material to us. There can be no assurance, however, that such proceedings, matters, claims, suits or investigations or those arising in the future, whether taken individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.