INCOME TAXES



	Three Months Ended March 31,
Dollars in Millions	2017			2016
Earnings Before Income Taxes	$	1,955		$	1,655
Provision for Income Taxes	429			449
Effective tax rate	21.9		%	27.1		%

The effective tax rate is lower than the U.S. statutory rate of 35% primarily attributable to undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries in low tax jurisdictions that have been considered or are expected to be indefinitely reinvested offshore. These undistributed earnings primarily relate to operations in Switzerland, Ireland and Puerto Rico. If these undistributed earnings are repatriated to the U.S. in the future, or if it were determined that such earnings are to be remitted in the foreseeable future, additional tax provisions would be required. Due to complexities in the tax laws and assumptions that would have to be made, it is not practicable to estimate the amounts of income taxes that would have to be provided. Reforms to U.S. tax laws related to foreign earnings have been proposed and if adopted, may increase taxes, which could reduce the results of operations and cash flows. BMS operates under a favorable tax grant in Puerto Rico not scheduled to expire prior to 2023.

Jurisdictional tax rates and other tax impacts attributed to R&D charges, divestiture transactions and other discrete pretax items increased the effective tax rate by 1.7% and 4.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, including non-deductible R&D asset acquisition charges and goodwill allocated to business divestitures. The tax impact for discrete items are reflected immediately and are not considered in estimating the annual effective tax rate.

The adoption of the amended guidance for intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory and share-based payment transactions reduced the effective tax rate by 2.1% in the three months ended March 31, 2017. Refer to "—Note 1. Basis of Presentation and Recently Issued Accounting Standards" for additional information.

BMS is currently under examination by a number of tax authorities which have proposed or are considering proposing material adjustments to tax positions for issues such as transfer pricing, certain tax credits and the deductibility of certain expenses. It is reasonably possible that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits at March 31, 2017 could decrease in the range of approximately $255 million to $315 million in the next twelve months as a result of the settlement of certain tax audits and other events. The expected change in unrecognized tax benefits may result in the payment of additional taxes, adjustment of certain deferred taxes and/or recognition of tax benefits. It is also reasonably possible that new issues will be raised by tax authorities which may require adjustments to the amount of unrecognized tax benefits; however, an estimate of such adjustments cannot reasonably be made at this time.