Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company’s effective income tax rates for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 were 19.7% and 18.9%, respectively and 18.3% and 22.5% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 respectively, reflecting a low effective income tax rate associated with the sale of the CH&S business.

The differences between the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21.0% and the Company’s effective income tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 were impacted by a variety of factors, primarily resulting from the geographic mix of where the income was earned as well as certain taxable income inclusion items in the U.S. based on foreign earnings.

The three and six months ended June 30, 2022 were also impacted by certain discrete items. Income tax expense for the three months ended June 30, 2022 included a discrete benefit of $11 million associated with the reduction in valuation allowance related to the integration of certain Brazilian operations. The six months ended June 30, 2022 also included a discrete benefit of $4 million associated with the approval of certain state tax credits, offset by $15 million of income tax expense related to the divestiture of the CH&S business unit.

The three and six months ended June 30, 2021 were also impacted by certain discrete items. Income tax expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 included a discrete benefit of $13 million associated with a reduction in valuation allowance related to the integration of certain U.K. operations and $9 million related to a statute of limitation expiration in France.

During the six months ended June 30, 2022, the Company amended its 2017 U.S. federal income tax return to carryback foreign tax credits generated in 2018 and capital losses generated in 2018 and 2020. This resulted in an increase in noncurrent income taxes receivable of approximately $261 million, a decrease in income taxes payable of approximately $95 million, and an increase in deferred tax liabilities of approximately $356 million.

The Company’s U.S. federal income tax returns for 2011 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019, as well as certain state and non-U.S. income tax returns for various years, are under examination.

On June 18, 2019, the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released temporary regulations under IRC Section 245A (“Section 245A”) as enacted by the 2017 U.S. Tax Reform Legislation (“2017 Tax Reform”) and IRC Section 954(c)(6) (the “Temporary Regulations”) to apply retroactively to the date the 2017 Tax Reform was enacted. On August 21, 2020, the U.S. Treasury and IRS released finalized versions of the Temporary Regulations (collectively with the Temporary Regulations, the “Regulations”). The Regulations seek to limit the 100% dividends received deduction permitted by Section 245A for certain dividends received from controlled foreign corporations and to limit the applicability of the look-through exception to foreign personal holding company income for certain dividends received from controlled foreign corporations. Before the retroactive application of the Regulations, the Company benefited in 2018 from both the 100% dividends received deduction and the look-through exception to foreign personal holding company income. The Company analyzed the Regulations and concluded the relevant Regulations were not validly issued. Therefore, the Company has not accounted for the effects of the Regulations in its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the period ending June 30, 2022. The Company believes it has strong arguments in favor of its position and believes it has met the more likely than not recognition threshold that its position will be sustained. However, due to the inherent uncertainty involved in challenging the validity of regulations, as well as a potential litigation process, there can be no assurances that the relevant Regulations will be invalidated or that a court of law will rule in favor of the Company. If the Company’s position on the Regulations is not sustained, the Company would be required to recognize an income tax expense of approximately $180 million to $220 million related to an income tax benefit from fiscal year 2018 that was recorded based on regulations in existence at the time. In addition, the Company may be required to pay any applicable interest and penalties. On April 4, 2022, in a case not involving the Company, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado granted the taxpayer's motion for summary judgment that the Temporary Regulations were not validly issued on the basis of improper promulgation. The Company is monitoring the impact of this decision and intends to continue to vigorously defend its position.