The provision for income taxes is based on earnings before income taxes reported for financial statement purposes. The components of earnings from continuing operations before income taxes, based on tax jurisdiction, are as follows:

	Fiscal Year
(in millions)	2012		2011		2010
U.S.	$	1,620	$	1,391	$	1,538
International		2,525		2,273		2,406
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes	$	4,145	$	3,664	$	3,944

The provision for income taxes from continuing operations consists of the following:
	Fiscal Year
(in millions)	2012		2011		2010
Current tax expense:
U.S.	$	664	$	360	$	515
International		231		188		237
Total current tax expense		895		548		752
Deferred tax expense (benefit):
U.S.		(138)		51		111
International		(27)		10		(2)
Net deferred tax expense (benefit)		(165)		61		109
Total provision for income taxes	$	730	$	609	$	861

Deferred taxes arise because of the different treatment of transactions for financial statement accounting and income tax accounting, known as “temporary differences.” The Company records the tax effect of these temporary differences as “deferred tax assets” and “deferred tax liabilities.” Deferred tax assets generally represent items that can be used as a tax deduction or credit in a tax return in future years for which the Company has already recorded the tax benefit in the consolidated statements of earnings. The Company establishes valuation allowances for deferred tax assets when the amount of expected future taxable income is not likely to support the use of the deduction or credit. The Company has established valuation allowances for federal, state, and foreign net operating losses, credit carryforwards, capital loss carryforwards, and deferred tax assets which are capital in nature of $387 million and $286 million at April 27, 2012 and April 29, 2011, respectively. These carryover attributes expire at various points in time, from within a year to no expiration date. These valuation allowances would result in a reduction to the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statements of earnings, if they are ultimately not required. Deferred tax liabilities generally represent tax expense recognized in the consolidated financial statements for which payment has been deferred or expense has already been taken as a deduction on the Company's tax return but has not yet been recognized as an expense in the consolidated statements of earnings. Deferred tax assets/(liabilities), shown before jurisdictional netting, are comprised of the following:

(in millions)	April 27, 2012		April 29, 2011
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss, capital loss, and credit carryforwards	$	496	$	379
Inventory (intercompany profit in inventory and excess of tax over book valuation)		462		361
Accrued liabilities		266		210
Pension and post-retirement benefits		256		138
Stock-based compensation		233		233
Other		221		164
Federal and state benefit on uncertain tax positions		129		133
Gross deferred tax assets		2,063		1,618
Valuation allowance		(387)		(286)
Total deferred tax assets		1,676		1,332
Deferred tax liabilities:
Intangible assets		(710)		(695)
Basis impairment		(178)		(44)
Realized loss on derivative financial instruments		(112)		(112)
Unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities and derivative financial instruments		(77)		(10)
Accumulated depreciation		(68)		(57)
Other		(31)		(45)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(1,176)		(963)

Deferred tax assets, net	$	500	$	369

Reported as (after jurisdictional netting):
Deferred tax assets, net	$	640	$	523
Long-term deferred tax assets, net		504		314
Deferred tax liabilities net		(33)		(7)
Long-term deferred tax liabilities, net		(611)		(461)
Deferred tax assets, net	$	500	$	369

Prior period current and noncurrent deferred tax assets and liabilities within the consolidated balance sheets have been corrected to properly reflect the jurisdictional netting of deferred income taxes.

The Company’s effective income tax rate from continuing operations varied from the U.S. Federal statutory tax rate as follows:

	Fiscal Year
	2012			2011			2010
U.S. Federal statutory tax rate		35.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%
Increase (decrease) in tax rate resulting from:
U.S. state taxes, net of Federal tax benefit		0.9			0.3			0.5
Research and development credit		(0.6)			(1.2)			(0.5)
Domestic production activities		(0.5)			(0.4)			(0.3)
International		(16.9)			(19.4)			(16.8)
Puerto Rico Excise Tax		(1.4)			(0.6)			-
Impact of restructuring charges, net, certain litigation charges, net, and acquisition-related items		0.3			2.4			2.0
Reversal of excess tax accruals		(0.8)			(1.8)			-
Retiree medical subsidy law change		-			-			0.4
Valuation allowance release		(0.8)			-			-
Other, net		2.4			2.3			1.5
Effective tax rate		17.6	%		16.6	%		21.8	%

During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012, the Company entered into a sale-leaseback agreement that was recorded as a capital lease and as a result of the transaction, the Company recorded a $33 million tax benefit associated with the release of a valuation allowance associated with the usage of a capital loss carryover. The $33 million tax benefit was recorded in the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statement of earnings for fiscal year 2012.

In fiscal year 2011, the Company recorded a $67 million net tax benefit associated with the reversal of excess tax accruals. This reversal related to the settlement of certain issues reached with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) involving the review of the Company's fiscal years 1997 through 1999 and fiscal years 2005 and 2006 domestic income tax returns, and the resolution of various state and foreign audit proceedings covering multiple years and issues. The $67 million net tax benefit was recorded in the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statement of earnings for fiscal year 2011.

In fiscal year 2010, the Company recorded a $15 million tax cost associated with the U.S. health care reform legislation eliminating the federal tax benefit for government subsidies of retiree prescription drug benefits. The $15 million tax cost was recorded in the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statement of earnings for fiscal year 2010.

The Company has not provided U.S. income taxes on approximately $17.977 billion, $14.912 billion, and $12.373 billion of undistributed earnings from non-U.S. subsidiaries as of April 27, 2012, April 29, 2011, and April 30, 2010, respectively. These earnings are intended to be indefinitely reinvested outside the U.S. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred tax liability on these undistributed earnings is not practicable. Currently, the Company's operations in Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and Singapore have various tax incentive grants. Unless these grants are extended, they will expire between fiscal years 2013 and 2027. The expiration of a tax incentive grant in fiscal year 2013 is not expected to have a significant impact on the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statement of earnings in future years.

The Company had $917 million, $769 million, and $538 million of gross unrecognized tax benefits as of April 27, 2012, April 29, 2011, and April 30, 2010, respectively. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits for fiscal years 2012, 2011, and 2010 is as follows:

	Fiscal Year
(in millions)	2012		2011		2010
Gross unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of fiscal year	$	769	$	538	$	431
Gross increases:
Prior year tax positions		47		151		51
Current year tax positions		171		172		74
Gross decreases:
Prior year tax positions		(53)		(57)		(14)
Settlements		(4)		(32)		(4)
Statute of limitation lapses		(13)		(3)		-
Gross unrecognized tax benefits at end of fiscal year	$	917	$	769	$	538

If all of the Company's unrecognized tax benefits as of April 27, 2012, April 29, 2011, and April 30, 2010 were recognized, $858 million, $685 million, and $459 million would impact the Company's effective tax rate, respectively. Although the Company believes that it has adequately provided for liabilities resulting from tax assessments by taxing authorities, positions taken by these tax authorities could have a material impact on the Company's effective tax rate in future periods. The Company has recorded the gross unrecognized tax benefits as a long-term liability, as it does not expect significant payments to occur or the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits to change significantly over the next 12 months.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to income tax matters in the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statements of earnings and records the liability in the current or long-term accrued income taxes in the consolidated balance sheets, as appropriate. The Company had $120 million, $80 million, and $94 million of accrued gross interest and penalties as of April 27, 2012, April 29, 2011, and April 30, 2010, respectively. During the fiscal years ended April 27, 2012, April 29, 2011, and April 30, 2010, the Company recognized interest expense, net of tax benefit, of approximately $23 million, $12 million, and $14 million in the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statements of earnings, respectively.

Tax audits associated with the allocation of income, and other complex issues, may require an extended period of time to resolve and may result in income tax adjustments if changes to the Company's allocation are required between jurisdictions with different tax rates. Tax authorities periodically review the Company's tax returns and propose adjustments to the Company's tax filings. The IRS has settled its audits with the Company for all years through fiscal year 2004. Tax years settled with the IRS may remain open for foreign tax audits and competent authority proceedings. Competent authority proceedings are a means to resolve intercompany pricing disagreements between countries.

In September 2005, the IRS issued its audit report for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002. In addition, the IRS issued its audit report for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 in March 2007. During October 2011, the Company reached agreement with the IRS on all remaining final proposed adjustments for fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

In March 2009, the IRS issued its audit report for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The Company reached agreement with the IRS on some but not all matters related to these fiscal years. The unresolved significant issues that remain outstanding relate to the allocation of income between Medtronic, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary operating in Puerto Rico, which is one of the Company's key manufacturing sites, as well as the timing of the deductibility of a settlement payment. On December 23, 2010, the IRS issued a statutory notice of deficiency with respect to the remaining issues. The Company filed a Petition with the U.S. Tax Court on March 21, 2011 objecting to the deficiency. The Company is currently in settlement discussions with the IRS as it relates to the outstanding issues; however, a settlement has not yet been reached.

In October 2011, the IRS issued its audit report for fiscal years 2007 and 2008. The Company reached agreement with the IRS on some but not all matters related to these fiscal years. The significant issues that remain unresolved relate to the allocation of income between Medtronic, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary operating in Puerto Rico, and proposed adjustments associated with the tax effects of the Company's acquisition of Kyphon. Associated with the Kyphon acquisition, Medtronic entered into an intercompany transaction whereby the Kyphon U.S. tangible assets were sold to another wholly-owned subsidiary in a taxable transaction. The IRS has disagreed with the Company's valuation and proposed that all U.S. goodwill, the value of the ongoing business, and the value of the workforce in place be included in the tangible asset sale. The Company disagrees that these items were sold, as well as with the IRS valuation of these items. The Company is currently attempting to resolve these matters at the IRS Appellate level and will proceed through litigation, if necessary.

The Company's reserve for the uncertain tax positions related to these significant unresolved matters with the IRS, as described above, is subject to a high degree of estimation and management judgment. Resolution of these significant unresolved matters, or positions taken by the IRS or foreign tax authorities during future tax audits, could have a material impact on the Company's financial results in future periods. The Company continues to believe that its reserves for uncertain tax positions are appropriate and have meritorious defenses for its tax filings and will vigorously defend them during the audit process, appellate process, and through litigation in courts, as necessary.