Subsequent Events

3 Months Ended

Apr. 01, 2023

Subsequent Events [Abstract]

Subsequent Events

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Internal Revenue Service Audit of Athena Neurosciences, Inc., a U.S. Subsidiary    

On April 26, 2019, we received a revised NOPA from the IRS regarding transfer pricing positions related to the IRS audit of Athena Neurosciences, LLC ("Athena") for the years ended December 31, 2011, December 31, 2012, and December 31, 2013. The April 26, 2019 NOPA carried forward the IRS's theory from its 2017 draft NOPA that when Elan took over the future funding of Athena's in-process research and development after acquiring Athena in 1996, Elan should have paid a substantially higher royalty rate for the right to exploit Athena’s intellectual property in various developmental products, including the Multiple Sclerosis drug Tysabri, rather than rates based on transfer pricing documentation prepared by Elan's external tax advisors. The April 26, 2019 NOPA proposed a payment of $843.0 million, which represented additional tax based on imputing royalty income to Athena using a 24.7% royalty rate derived by the IRS and a 40.0% accuracy-related penalty. This amount excluded consideration of offsetting tax attributes and any potential interest that may be imposed. We strongly disagreed with the IRS position. On December 22, 2016, we also received a NOPA for these years denying the deductibility of settlement costs incurred in 2011 by Athena's parent company Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("EPI") related to illegal marketing of Zonegran by EPI's employees in the United States raised in a Qui Tam action under the U.S. False Claims Act. We strongly disagreed with the IRS' position on this issue as well. Because we believed that any concession on these issues in Appeals would be contrary to our evaluation of the issues and to avoid double taxation of the same income in the United States and Ireland, we pursued our remedies under the Mutual Agreement Procedure ("MAP") of the U.S.-Ireland Income Tax Treaty to alleviate double taxation. On April 21 and 23, 2020, we filed requests for Competent Authority assistance with the IRS and Irish Revenue on the Tysabri royalty issue, and those MAP applications were accepted. On October 20, 2020, we amended our requests for Competent Authority assistance to include the Zonegran issue and these supplemental requests were also accepted. On April 24, 2023, we received a letter from the IRS regarding the Competent Authority request filed for the Tysabri royalty issue, which concludes the competent authority process commenced by such submissions without the need for negotiations between the competent authorities and constitutes a full and final resolution of the April 26, 2019 NOPA. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 we plan to adjust any previously established reserves related to this matter. The Zonegran deduction issue remains pending in the MAP case and is being considered by APMA and the Irish Competent Authority.

Internal Revenue Service Audits of Perrigo Company, a U.S. Subsidiary

As detailed in Note 15. Income Taxes, on January 13, 2021, the IRS issued a 30-day letter for the 2013-2015 tax years, which included a proposal to reduce Perrigo U.S.'s deductible interest expense for the 2014 tax year and the 2015 tax year on $7.5 billion in certain intercompany debts owed by it to Perrigo Company plc. The debts were incurred in connection with the 2013 Elan merger transaction. On May 7, 2020, the IRS issued a NOPA capping the interest rate on the debts for U.S. federal tax purposes at 130.0% of the Applicable Federal Rate ("AFR") (a blended

rate reduction of 4.0% per annum) on the stated ground that the loans were not negotiated on an arms-length basis. The May 7, 2020 NOPA proposed a reduction in gross interest expense of approximately $414.7 million for tax years 2014 and 2015. On January 13, 2021, we received a RAR, together with the 30-day letter, requiring our filing of a written protest to request IRS Appeals consideration. The protest was timely filed with the IRS on February 26, 2021. On January 20, 2022, the IRS responded to our protest with its rebuttal in which it revised its position on this interest rate issue by reasserting that implicit parental support considerations are necessary to determine the arm's length interest rates and proposed revised interest rates that are higher than the interest rates proposed under its 130.0% of AFR assertion. The blended interest rate proposed by the IRS rebuttal was 4.36%, an increase from the blended interest rate in the RAR of 2.57% but lower than the stated blended interest rate of the loans of 6.8%. An IRS Appeals conference for the interest rate issue was held during March 7, 2023 through March 9, 2023. On May 5, 2023, we finalized an agreement with IRS Appeals providing for settlement of the May 7, 2020 NOPA of $153.4 million of gross interest expense reduction for the 2013-2015 tax years. This implies a blended interest rate of 5.44%. In addition, based on the above agreement with IRS Appeals, we will apply similar adjustments for all remaining tax years through 2018. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 we plan to adjust any previously established reserves related to this matter.