Income Taxes

We recognized an income tax benefit of $11.1 million and $6.7 million for the three and nine months ended October 1, 2017, respectively, representing effective tax rates of 109.3% and (12.0)%, respectively. The effective tax rates were impacted by the following significant factors:


•	We recognized an income tax benefit of $2.5 million and $8.4 million in the three and nine months ended October 1, 2017, respectively, as a result of the implementation of a foreign tax credit planning strategy.

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Foreign tax rate differences reduced our income tax expense by approximately $1.4 million and $8.4 million in the three and nine months ended October 1, 2017, respectively. The statutory tax rates associated with our foreign earnings generally are lower than the statutory U.S. tax rate of 35%. This had the greatest impact on our income before taxes that is generated in Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, which have statutory tax rates of approximately 28%, 26%, and 25%, respectively.


•	We also recognized an income tax benefit of $6.4 million and $11.7 million in the three and nine months ended October 1, 2017, respectively, related to non-taxable currency translation gains.

All other items impacting the effective tax rate represented a net expense of $2.6 million and $2.3 million in the three and nine months ended October 1, 2017, respectively.

We recognized income tax expense of $2.4 million for the three months ended October 2, 2016, representing an effective tax rate of 6.2% . We recognized an income tax benefit of $1.1 million for the nine months ended October 2, 2016, representing an effective tax rate of (1.2)%. The effective tax rates were impacted by the following significant factors:


•	We recognized $2.9 million and $11.0 million of tax benefit in the three and nine months ended October 2, 2016, respectively, as the result of securing a significant tax deduction for a foreign currency loss by implementing several transactions related to our international tax structure.

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We also recognized a $7.0 million tax benefit in the nine months ended October 2, 2016 for the reduction of deferred tax liabilities related to a previously completed acquisition. As part of an implemented tax planning strategy, we secured a Private Letter Ruling from the Internal Revenue Service that effectively increased the tax basis in the acquired assets to the full fair value. Accordingly, a book-tax difference was eliminated, and we reversed deferred tax liabilities previously recorded, resulting in the tax benefit.

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In the three and nine months ended October 2, 2016, we recognized tax benefits of $2.2 million and $6.0 million, respectively, as a result of reducing a deferred tax valuation allowance related to net operating loss carryforwards in a foreign jurisdiction. Based on certain restructuring transactions in the nine months ended October 2, 2016, the net operating loss carryforwards are expected to be realizable.

The tax benefits described above for the nine months ended October 2, 2016 were partially offset by a $2.7 million tax expense to record a liability for uncertain tax positions in one of our foreign jurisdictions.