Income Taxes |
6 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jun. 30, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income Taxes | INCOME TAXES U.S. Federal Income Tax Reform The Tax Act resulted in a number of significant changes to U.S. federal income tax law for U.S. corporations. Most notably, the statutory U.S. federal corporate income tax rate was changed from 35% to 21% for corporations. In addition to the change in the corporate income tax rate, the Tax Act further introduced a number of other changes including a one-time transition tax via a mandatory deemed repatriation of post-1986 undistributed foreign earnings and profits; the introduction of GILTI for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017; the limitation of deductible net interest to 30% of adjustable taxable income; the further limitation of the deductibility of share-based compensation of certain highly-compensated employees; the ability to elect to accelerate bonus depreciation on certain qualified assets; and BEAT. Income tax expense and effective tax rates were:
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the decrease in effective tax rates, compared to the same periods in 2017, is due to the release of valuation allowances in certain jurisdictions, partially offset by operating losses in certain jurisdictions where the Company has determined that it is not more likely than not to realize the associated tax benefits, tax expense recorded in profitable jurisdictions, and the impact of the GILTI provisions included in the Tax Act. The Company has elected to account for GILTI as a period cost, and therefore has included GILTI expense in the effective tax rate calculation. The Company’s effective income tax rate, for each period presented, also differs from the federal U.S. statutory rate due to the release of valuation allowances in certain jurisdictions and differences in income tax rates between U.S. and foreign jurisdictions. The Company had unrecognized tax benefits of $4.6 million and $6.2 million at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and the Company does not expect any significant changes in tax benefits in the next twelve months. Our tax rate is volatile and may increase or decrease with changes in, among other things, the amount of income or loss by jurisdiction, our ability to utilize net operating losses and foreign tax credits, changes in tax laws, and the movement of liabilities established pursuant to accounting guidance for uncertain tax positions as statutes of limitations expire, positions are effectively settled, or when additional information becomes available. There are proposed or pending tax law changes in various jurisdictions and other changes to regulatory environments in countries in which we do business that, if enacted, may have an impact on our effective tax rate. |