INCOME TAXES

The Company reported the following operating results for the periods presented (in thousands):



	Three months ended						Six months ended
	June 29, 2018			June 30, 2017			June 29, 2018			June 30, 2017
Loss before income taxes	$	(2,022	)	$	(30,921	)	$	(14,638	)	$	(55,180	)
Provision for income taxes	891			579			1,969			347
Effective income tax rate	(44.1		)%	(1.9		)%	(13.5		)%	(0.6		)%

The Company operates in multiple jurisdictions and its profits are taxed pursuant to the tax laws of these jurisdictions. The Company’s effective income tax rate may be affected by changes in, or interpretations of tax laws and tax agreements in any given jurisdiction, utilization of net operating loss and tax credit carry forwards, changes in geographical mix of income and expense, and changes in management’s assessment of matters such as the ability to realize deferred tax assets. The Company’s effective tax rate varies from year to year primarily due to the absence of several onetime, discrete items that benefited or decremented the tax rates in the previous years.

The Company's effective income tax rate of (13.5)% for the six months ended June 29, 2018 was different from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21%, primarily due to the Company’s geographical income mix and favorable tax rates associated with certain earnings from operations in lower-tax jurisdictions, the increase in the valuation allowance against U.S. federal, California and other state deferred tax assets, detriment from non-deductible stock-based compensation, and the net of various discrete tax adjustments. For the six months ended June 29, 2018, the discrete adjustments to the Company's tax expense were primarily withholding taxes.

The Company files U.S. federal and state, and foreign income tax returns in jurisdictions with varying statutes of limitations during which such tax returns may be audited and adjusted by the relevant tax authorities. The 2014 through 2017 tax years generally remain subject to examination by U.S. federal and most state tax authorities. In significant foreign jurisdictions, the 2007 through 2017 tax years generally remain subject to examination by their respective tax authorities. If, upon the conclusion of an audit, the ultimate determination of taxes owed in the jurisdictions under audit is for an amount in excess of the tax provision the Company has recorded in the applicable period, the Company’s overall tax expense, effective tax rate, operating results and cash flow could be materially and adversely impacted in the period of adjustment.

On July 27, 2015, the U.S. Tax Court issued an opinion in Altera Corp. v. Commissioner, 145 T.C. No.3 (2015) related to the treatment of stock-based compensation expense in an intercompany cost-sharing arrangement. A final decision was entered by the U.S. Tax Court on December 1, 2015 (the “2015 Decision”). On February 19, 2016, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service filed a notice of appeal in Altera Corp. v. Commissioner, 145 T.C. No. 3 (2015), to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit was to decide whether a regulation that mandates that stock-based compensation costs related to the intangible development activity of a qualified cost sharing arrangement (a “QCSA”) must be included in the joint cost pool of the QCSA (the “all costs rule”) is consistent with the arm’s length standard as set forth in Section 482 of the Internal Revenue Code. On July 24, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Altera Corp. v. Commissioner (the “Altera Opinion”) requiring related parties in an intercompany cost-sharing arrangement to share expenses related to share-based compensation. This opinion reversed the 2015 Decision of the United States Tax Court. Due to uncertainties surrounding the ultimate resolution of the 2015 Decision, the Company continued to share expenses related to share-based compensation despite the 2015 Decision. Therefore, the Altera Opinion is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The Company’s operations in Switzerland are subject to a reduced tax rate under the Switzerland tax holiday which requires various thresholds of investment and employment in Switzerland. The Company has met these various thresholds and the Switzerland tax holiday is effective through the end of 2018.

As of June 29, 2018, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, was approximately $17.9 million, of which $1.1 million would affect the Company’s effective tax rate if the benefits are eventually recognized. The remaining gross unrecognized tax benefit does not affect the Company’s effective tax rate as it relates to positions that would be settled with tax attributes such as net operating loss carryforward or tax credits previously subject to a valuation allowance. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax positions in income tax expense. The Company had $0.5 million of gross interest and penalties accrued as of June 29, 2018. The Company will continue to review its tax positions and provide for, or reverse, unrecognized tax benefits as issues arise. As of June 29, 2018, the Company released $1.5 million from a 2013-2015 audit settlement in Israel.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, an accounting standard update for the accounting of share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. The new standard eliminated the requirement to report excess tax benefits and certain tax deficiencies related to share-based payment transactions as additional paid-in capital. It also removes the requirement to delay recognition of a windfall tax benefit until it reduces current taxes payable. Under the new guidance, the benefit will be recorded when it arises, subject to normal valuation allowance considerations. The Company adopted this new accounting standard beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 using a modified-retrospective transition method and recorded a cumulative effect of $4.6 million of additional gross deferred tax assets associated with shared-based payments and an offsetting valuation allowance of the same amount, therefore resulting in no net impact to the Company’s beginning retained earnings.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, an accounting standard update which requires companies to recognize the income tax consequences of all intra-entity sales of assets other than inventory when they occur. As a result, a reporting entity would recognize the tax expense from the sale of the asset in the seller’s tax jurisdiction when the transfer occurs, even though the pre-tax effects of that transaction are eliminated in consolidation. Any deferred tax assets that arise in the buyer’s jurisdiction would also be recognized at the time of the transfer. The Company early adopted this accounting standard update during the first quarter of fiscal 2017 on a modified retrospective approach and recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment of $1.4 million as of January 1, 2017 (which reduced the accumulated deficit). Correspondingly, in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, the Company recognized an additional $1.1 million of net deferred tax assets, after netting with $2.1 million of valuation allowances, and wrote off the remaining $0.3 million of unamortized tax expenses deferred under the previous guidance to provision for income taxes in the first quarter of fiscal 2017.