Note 12. Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the provisions of ASC 740, Accounting for Income Taxes. The Company adjusts its effective tax rate each quarter to be consistent with the estimated annual effective tax rate. The Company also records the tax effect of unusual or infrequently occurring discrete items, including changes in judgment about valuation allowances and effects of changes in tax laws or tax rates, in the interim period in which they occur. The Company's effective tax rate reflects the impact of a portion of its earnings being taxed in foreign jurisdictions as well as a valuation allowance maintained on certain deferred tax assets.

The Company’s tax provision takes into account the changes in the tax laws under Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act” or “TCJA”), signed into law on December 22, 2017, including the reduction of the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Other components of the Act are accounted for based on the Company’s interpretation of the most current guidance available and are subject to revisions as the Company completes its analysis of the Act, collects and prepares necessary data, and interprets any additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), FASB, and other standard-setting and regulatory bodies. The Company’s accounting for the tax effects of the Act will be completed during the measurement period, which should not extend beyond one year from the enactment date.

The TCJA creates a new Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) requirement under which certain income earned by controlled foreign corporations (“CFC”s) must be included currently in the gross income of the CFCs’ U.S. shareholder. GILTI is the excess of the shareholder’s “net CFC tested income” over the net deemed tangible income return, which is currently defined as the excess of (1) 10 percent of the aggregate of the U.S. shareholder’s pro rata share of the qualified business asset investment of each CFC with respect to which it is a U.S. shareholder over (2) the amount of certain interest expense taken into account in the determination of net CFC-tested income.

Because of the complexity of the new GILTI tax rules, the Company is continuing to evaluate this provision of the TCJA and the application of ASC 740. Under U.S. GAAP, the Company is allowed to make an accounting policy choice of either (1) treating taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (2) factoring such amounts into a company’s measurement of its deferred taxes (the “deferred method”). The Company’s selection of an accounting policy with respect to the new GILTI tax rules will depend, in part, on analyzing the Company’s global income to determine what the impact is expected to be. The Company is not yet able to reasonably estimate the effect of this provision of the TCJA. Therefore, the Company has not made a policy decision regarding whether to record deferred taxes on GILTI. As a result, for the period ended September 29, 2018, the Company has treated GILTI as a period cost and will continue to refine the calculations as additional analysis is completed.

The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 29, 2018		September 30, 2017		September 29, 2018		September 30, 2017
Provision for income taxes	$	2,921	$	1,756	$	10,258	$	4,492

The Company recorded a tax provision of $2.9 million and $1.8 million for the three months ended September 29, 2018 and September 30, 2017, respectively. The increase in the tax provision for 2018 from 2017 was primarily related to the Company’s increased profitability for the three months ending September 29, 2018, offset by less U.S. tax required on foreign earnings under the TCJA.

The Company recorded a tax provision of $10.3 million and $4.5 million for the nine months ended September 29, 2018 and September 30, 2017, respectively. The increase in the tax provision for 2018 from 2017 was primarily related to the Company’s increased profitability and less U.S. tax required on foreign earnings under the TCJA for the nine months ended September 29, 2018, a one-time benefit for an entity classification change, and a higher tax benefit associated with the settlement of equity options/awards for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

The Company continues to maintain a valuation allowance against its California and Switzerland deferred tax assets as a result of uncertainties regarding the realization of the assets due to cumulative losses and uncertainty of future taxable income. The Company will continue to assess the realizability of the deferred tax assets in each of the applicable jurisdictions and maintain the valuation allowances until sufficient positive evidence exists to support a reversal. In the event the Company determines that the deferred tax assets are realizable, an adjustment to the valuation allowance will be reflected in the tax provision for the period such determination is made.

The Company is subject to taxation in the U.S. and various states including California, and foreign jurisdictions including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Germany, U.K., France, and Israel. Due to tax attribute carry-forwards, the Company is subject to examination for tax years 2003 forward for U.S. tax purposes. The Company is also subject to examination in various states for tax years 2002 forward. The Company is subject to examination for tax years 2010 forward for various foreign jurisdictions.

The Company accrues interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in its provision for income taxes. The total amount of penalties and interest were not material as of September 29, 2018 and September 30, 2017. During the next twelve months, the Company anticipates increases in its unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $0.5 million.