Income taxes

3 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income taxes

Income taxes

The effective tax rate for the three months ended November 30, 2019 was 3.6% compared to 14.2% for the three months ended November 30, 2018. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended November 30, 2019 was primarily due to discrete tax benefits recorded during the current period from the reduction of a valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets related to anticipated capital gains.

Income taxes paid for the three months ended November 30, 2019 were $92 million, compared to $61 million for the three months ended November 30, 2018.

On December 2, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations relating to the base erosion and anti-avoidance tax (“BEAT”) provisions and the foreign tax credit regime under the U.S. tax law changes enacted in December 2017. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of the regulations but does not anticipate a material impact on its financial statements.