Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Legislative Updates

On August 16, 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law, which includes a new corporate alternative minimum tax (“CAMT”) and an excise tax of 1% on the fair market value of net stock repurchases. Both provisions are effective for years after December 31, 2022. The Company reflected the applicable estimated excise tax in treasury stock as part of the cost basis of the stock repurchased and recorded a corresponding liability in Other current liabilities in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. The share repurchase and authorization amounts otherwise disclosed in this Form 10-Q exclude the excise tax. The Company does not anticipate being subject to the 15% CAMT tax in either 2023 or 2024 based on enacted law and regulatory guidance; however, our CAMT status could change in the future, depending on new regulations or regulatory guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In addition, many countries are actively considering or have proposed or enacted changes to their tax laws based on the Pillar Two Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules (“Pillar Two Rules”) proposed by the OECD. The Pillar Two Rules impose a global minimum tax of 15%, and under these rules, the Company may be required to pay a “top-up” tax to the extent our effective tax rate in any given country is below 15%. Several countries have enacted the Pillar Two Rules effective January 1, 2024, with many countries postponing implementation to January 1, 2025 or later, if at all. After determining which jurisdictions are not required to calculate a Pillar Two liability as a result of the existing safe harbors, the Company has determined that the impact of the Pillar Two Rules in the countries that have enacted such rules effective January 1, 2024, is not material to our results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. While the Company is monitoring developments and evaluating the potential impact on future periods, we do not expect Pillar Two Rules to have a significant impact on the 2024 financial results.

Tax Examinations

The Company is subject to income taxes and tax audits in many jurisdictions. A certain degree of estimation is thus required in recording the assets and liabilities related to income taxes. Tax audits and examinations can involve complex issues, interpretations, and judgments and the resolution of matters that may span multiple years, particularly if subject to litigation or negotiation.

Although the Company believes that adequate provisions have been made for these uncertain tax positions, the Company’s assessment of uncertain tax positions, including those arising from legal entity restructuring transactions in connection with the Combination, is based on estimates and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable but the estimates for unrecognized tax benefits and potential tax benefits may not be representative of actual outcomes, and variations from such estimates could materially affect the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows in the period of resolution, settlement or when the statutes of limitations expire.

The Company is subject to ongoing IRS examinations. The years 2020 through 2022 are open years, with 2020 and 2021 under examination.

Several international audits are currently in progress. In some cases, the tax auditors have proposed adjustments or issued assessments to our tax positions, including with respect to intercompany transactions, and we are in ongoing discussions with some of the auditors regarding the validity of their tax positions.

In instances where assessments have been issued, we disagree with these assessments and believe they are without merit and incorrect as a matter of law. As a result, we anticipate that certain of these matters may become the subject of litigation before tax courts where we intend to vigorously defend our position.

In Australia, the tax authorities issued notices of assessments to the Company for the years ended December 2009 to December 2020, subject to additional interest and penalties, concerning our tax position with respect to certain intercompany transactions. The tax authorities denied our objections to the assessments for the years ended December 2009 to December 2020 and we commenced litigation in the Australian Federal Court challenging those decisions. A trial took place in October 2023 and on March 20, 2024, the Court issued a decision in favor of the Company. The tax authorities did not appeal the Court decision. The Company made a partial payment of $56.0 million in 2021 and $5.2 million in 2022 in order to stay potential interest and penalties resulting from this litigation, which has been refunded.

In France, the tax authorities have issued notices of assessments to the Company for the years ended December 2013 to December 2015 concerning our tax position with respect to whether income earned by a Company entity not domiciled in France should be subject to French tax. We have commenced litigation before the French tax courts where the tax authorities will seek unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest.

In India, the tax authorities have issued notices of assessments to the Company seeking unpaid taxes and interest for the financial years covering 2013 to 2018 concerning our tax position with respect to certain corporate tax deductions and certain intercompany transactions. Some of these issues were resolved through the Company entering into an agreement with the tax authorities in March 2023 in respect of the pricing of its international transactions. The Company recorded tax expense of approximately $22.3 million during 2023 due to the terms of this agreement. The remaining issues are in the audit phase or are being challenged in the Indian tax courts.

In 2020, the Swedish Tax Authorities (“STA”) asserted an underpayment of tax against Meda A.B. for the tax years 2014 to 2019. The claim was that profits earned by its Luxembourg subsidiary should have been attributed to Meda A.B. The Company appealed the STA’s assessment to the Administrative Court of Stockholm. On September 16, 2022, the Court ruled in favor of Meda A.B. that no tax was due. The STA appealed that decision. On April 10, 2024, the Administrative Court of Appeals overturned the lower Court’s ruling and issued a decision in favor of the STA upholding its original assessment. The amount due including interest and penalties is approximately $18.2 million, which was paid during the second quarter of 2024. The Company has filed a petition seeking review of the decision to the Supreme Administrative Court.

The Company has recorded a net reserve for uncertain tax positions of $266.7 million and $287.1 million, including interest and penalties, in connection with its international audits at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. In connection with our international tax audits, it is possible that we will incur material losses above the amounts reserved.

The Company’s major U.S. state taxing jurisdictions remain open from fiscal year 2013 through 2022, with several state audits currently in progress. The Company’s major international taxing jurisdictions remain open from 2012 through 2023.    

Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes

The impact of an uncertain tax position that is more likely than not of being sustained upon audit by the relevant taxing authority must be recognized at the largest amount that is more likely than not to be sustained. No portion of an uncertain tax position will be recognized if the position has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained.