Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

	Three Months Ended June 30,		Six Months Ended June 30,
	2023	2022	2023	2022
	(In percentages)
Effective income tax rate	(2)	20	6	19

The effective income tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was lower compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to decreased earnings in high taxed jurisdictions related to current demand conditions and a decrease in valuation allowances on U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards due to revised forecasts of foreign sourced income and expenses during the carryforward period. The effective income tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was lower compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to decreased earnings in high taxed jurisdictions related to current demand conditions.

In December 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "TCJA") was enacted and was effective January 1, 2018. The U.S. Treasury has issued various final and proposed regulatory packages supplementing the TCJA provisions since 2018. There have been no material proposed or final regulatory packages during the three months ended June 30, 2023.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (the "IRA") was enacted and included a 1% excise tax on share repurchases in excess of $1 million, and a corporate minimum tax of 15% on adjusted book earnings. The corporate minimum tax paid is creditable in future years to the extent that regular tax liability exceeds the minimum tax in any given year. The Company does not expect these provisions and any newly issued administrative guidance to have a material impact to future income tax expense. The IRA also provides various beneficial credits for energy efficient related manufacturing, transportation and fuels, hydrogen/carbon recapture and renewable energy, which the Company is evaluating in regards to planned projects.

The Company will continue to monitor the expected impacts of any new guidance on the Company's filing positions and will record the impacts as discrete income tax expense or benefit in the period the guidance is finalized or becomes effective.

Due to the TCJA and uncertainty as to future foreign source income, the Company previously recorded a valuation allowance on a substantial portion of its foreign tax credit carryforwards. The Company is currently evaluating tax planning strategies to enable the use of the Company's foreign tax credit carryforwards that may decrease the Company's effective tax rate in future periods as the valuation allowance is reversed.

The Company's tax returns have been under joint audit for the years 2013 through 2015 by the United States, Netherlands and Germany (the "Authorities"). In September 2021, the Company received a draft joint audit report proposing adjustments to transfer pricing and the reallocation of income between the related jurisdictions. The Authorities also proposed to apply these adjustments to open tax years through 2019. The Company and the Authorities were unable to reach an agreement jointly and therefore the audits continued on a separate jurisdictional basis. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company concluded settlement discussions with the Dutch tax authorities. The Company is engaged in discussions with the other authorities regarding the ongoing examinations and will evaluate all additional potential remedies as the discussions progress.

In addition, the Company's income tax returns in Mexico are under audit for the year 2018, and in Canada for the years 2016 through 2018. In January 2022, the Mexico tax authorities issued preliminary findings for disallowance of operating expenses on several of the applicable tax returns. The Company has analyzed the preliminary findings, engaged in preliminary discussions with the Mexico tax authorities and has recorded the appropriate tax reserves as of June 30, 2023. The Company will continue discussions with the Mexico authorities in 2023. Related to Canada, the Company is in ongoing discussions regarding the audit findings with the Canadian authorities and does not expect a material impact to income tax expense.

As of June 30, 2023, the Company believes that an adequate provision for income taxes has been made for all open tax years related to the examinations by government authorities. However, the outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues raised in the audits described above are resolved in a manner inconsistent with the Company's expectations or the Company is unsuccessful in defending its positions, the Company could be required to adjust its provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs. If required, any such adjustments could be material to the statements of operations and cash flows in the period(s) recorded.