Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2011

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Note 6. Income Taxes

Cooper's effective tax rate (ETR) (provision for income taxes divided by pretax income) for the fiscal first nine months of 2011 was 8.5%. Our year-to-date results include the projected fiscal year ETR, plus any discrete items. The ETR used to record the provision for income taxes for the fiscal first nine months of 2010 was 8.4%. The ETR is below the United States statutory rate as a majority of our income is earned in foreign jurisdictions with lower tax rates reflecting the shift in the geographic mix of income during recent periods with income earned in foreign jurisdictions increasing as compared to income earned in the United States. As a result, the ratio of domestic income to worldwide income primarily within CooperVision has decreased over recent fiscal periods. A reduction in the ratio of domestic income to worldwide income effectively lowers the overall tax rate due to the fact that the tax rates in the majority of foreign jurisdictions where the Company operates are significantly lower than the statutory rate in the United States. The completion of the Company's restructuring plan to close a CooperVision manufacturing facility, located in Norfolk, Virginia, with the manufacturing demand subsequently absorbed by our plants in the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico contributed to this change in the geographic mix of income. As a result of this restructuring, substantially all of CooperVision's contact lens products are manufactured outside of the United States.

Additionally, in fiscal 2011, the Company recorded a $16.5 million domestic loss on the repurchase of its Senior Notes that included the write off of about $4.4 million of unamortized costs and the redemption premium of $12.1 million. This impacted the Company's tax provision and further reduced the overall effective tax rate.

The Company adopted the provisions of ASC 740-10-25-5 through 25-17, Basic Recognition Threshold, formerly FIN 48, on November 1, 2007. Under this guidance, the Company recognizes the benefit from a tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position would be sustained upon audit based solely on the technical merits of the tax position. As of November 1, 2010, the Company had total gross unrecognized tax benefits of $19.7 million. If recognized, $18.8 million of unrecognized tax benefits would impact the Company's ETR. For the nine-month period ended July 31, 2011, there were no material changes to the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits.

Interest and penalties of $1.1 million have been reflected as a component of the total liability as of November 1, 2010. It is the Company's policy to recognize the items of interest and penalties directly related to income taxes as additional income tax expense.

Included in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits at November 1, 2010, is $3.4 million related to tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts could significantly change during the next twelve months. This amount represents a decrease in unrecognized tax benefits related to expiring statutes in various jurisdictions worldwide and is comprised of transfer pricing and other items.

As of July 31, 2011, the tax years for which the Company remains subject to United States Federal income tax assessment upon examination are 2005 through 2010. The Company remains subject to income tax examinations in other major tax jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, France and Australia for the tax years 2006 through 2010.

On April 1, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a Notice of Deficiency to the Company in connection with its audit of the Company's income tax returns for the years 2005 and 2006. The Notice asserts that the Company is subject to additional taxes due to a proposed adjustment under the anti-deferral provisions of Subpart F of the Internal Revenue Code. If sustained, such taxes should be offset by the Company's existing federal net operating loss carryforwards leaving a $1.2 million balance of proposed taxes owed. The Company intends to defend its positions taken in its income tax returns vigorously. However, if the IRS's contentions were sustained, the Company's existing federal net operating loss carryforwards could be materially reduced, which could result in a material adverse effect on the Company's future net income.