INCOME TAXES

3 Months Ended

Dec. 28, 2019

The following table reflects the provision for income taxes and the effective tax rate for the three months ended December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018:



	Three months ended
(in thousands)	December 28, 2019			December 29, 2018
Provision for income taxes	$	2,133		$	10,570
Effective tax rate	13.6		%	58.4		%

The decrease in provision for income taxes and in effective tax rate for the three months ended December 28, 2019 as compared to the three months ended December 29, 2018 of $10.6 million was primarily related to a decrease in profits in fiscal 2019. The decrease in tax expense for the three months ended December 28, 2019 is primarily related to $7.7 million of provision for income taxes recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 as an adjustment to the U.S. one-time transition tax.

For the three months ended December 28, 2019, the effective tax rate is lower than the U.S. federal statutory tax rate primarily due to tax benefits from foreign income earned in lower tax jurisdictions, tax incentives, and tax credits, partially offset by the foreign minimum tax, valuation allowances recorded against certain loss carryforwards, foreign withholding taxes, and tax liabilities from foreign operations.

It is reasonably possible that the amount of the unrecognized tax benefit with respect to certain unrecognized tax positions will increase or decrease during the next 12 months due to the expected lapse of statutes of limitation and / or settlements of tax examinations. Given the number of years and numerous matters that remain subject to examination in various tax jurisdictions, we cannot practicably estimate the timing or financial outcomes of these examinations.