Income Taxes

Our income tax (provision) benefit included the following:



Quarter ended	December 1, 2016			December 3, 2015
Utilization of and other changes in net deferred tax assets of MMJ and MMT	$	(13	)	$	(22	)
U.S. valuation allowance release resulting from business acquisition	—			41
Other, primarily non-U.S. operations	(18		)	(15		)
	$	(31	)	$	4

We have a full valuation allowance for our net deferred tax asset associated with our U.S. operations. The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable could be adjusted if significant positive evidence increases. Income taxes on U.S. operations in the first quarters of 2017 and 2016 were substantially offset by changes in the valuation allowance.

We operate in tax jurisdictions, including Singapore and Taiwan, where our earnings are indefinitely reinvested and are taxed at lower effective tax rates than the U.S. statutory rate and in a number of locations outside the U.S., including Singapore, where we have tax incentive arrangements that are conditional, in part, upon meeting certain business operations and employment thresholds. The effect of tax incentive arrangements, which expire in whole or in part at various dates through 2030, reduced our tax provision for the first quarters of 2017 and 2016 by $40 million (benefitting our diluted earnings per share by $0.04) and $12 million ($0.01 per diluted share), respectively.