Income Taxes Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 28, 2016

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

Income Taxes

The Company records income taxes using an estimated annual effective tax rate for interim reporting. The estimated annual effective tax rate may fluctuate due to changes in forecasted annual operating income; changes to the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets; changes to actual or forecast permanent book to tax differences; impacts from future tax settlements with state, federal or foreign tax authorities (such changes would be recorded discretely in the quarter in which they occur); or impacts from tax law changes. To the extent such changes impact the Company’s deferred tax assets/liabilities, these changes would generally be recorded discretely in the quarter in which they occur.

The Company's effective tax rates were 40.8% and 37.2% for the thirteen weeks ended June 28, 2016 and June 30, 2015, respectively, and 38.7% and 37.3% for the twenty-six weeks ended June 28, 2016 and June 30, 2015, respectively. During the thirteen weeks ended June 28, 2016, the Company recorded $7.2 million of refranchising charges for which the Company cannot currently realize the associated tax benefit.