Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

8. Income taxes

We record our interim provision for income taxes based on our estimated annual effective tax rate, as well as certain items discrete to the current period. The effective tax rates for the three and six months ended April 30, 2019 were 20.9% and 23.9%, respectively. The effective tax rates for the three and six months ended April 30, 2018 were 22.8% and 11.7%. The effective tax rate for the six months ended April 30, 2019 was higher than the comparable prior year period primarily due to the enacted law commonly referred to as the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("the Act").

On December 22, 2017, the Act was enacted into law which significantly revised U.S. tax law. It reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%.  We have an October 31 fiscal year-end, therefore the lower corporate income tax rate was phased in, resulting in a U.S. statutory federal rate of 23.3% for our fiscal year ended October 31, 2018, and 21% for subsequent fiscal years.  The statutory tax rate of 21.0% was applied to earnings in the current quarter.  

Subsequent to the enactment of the Act, the SEC staff issued SAB 118, which provided a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment date for companies to finalize the recognition of the income tax effects of the Act. As of January 31, 2019, our provisional accounting for the effects of the Act are complete. During the six months ended April 30, 2019, and within the one year measurement period provided by SAB 118, a discrete tax expense of $4,866 was recorded to the provisional amounts recognized in 2018 due to changes in interpretations and assumptions and the finalization of estimates. During the six months ended April 30, 2018, we provisionally recorded a discrete tax benefit of $22,089.

In March 2016, the FASB issued a new standard which simplifies the accounting for share-based payment transactions. This guidance required that excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the Consolidated Statements of Income rather than as additional paid-in capital. As a result, our income tax provision included a discrete tax benefit of $2,149 and $3,017 for the three and six months ended April 30, 2019, respectively. Our income tax provision for the three and six months ended April 30, 2018 included a discrete tax benefit of $2,202 and $6,950, respectively.