Income Tax Audit/Change in Accounting Estimate

3 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2012

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

10. Income Tax Audit/Change in Accounting Estimate

Effective February 1, 2007, the Company adopted the new guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) dealing with accounting for uncertainty in income taxes. This guidance prescribes recognition thresholds that must be met before a tax position is recognized in the financial statements and provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. Under guidance, an entity may only recognize or continue to recognize tax positions that meet a "more likely than not" threshold.

There was no activity during FY12 or FY13, and the uncertain tax liability at April 30, 2012, was $0. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax issues as components of income tax expense.

The Company is subject to US federal income tax, as well as income tax in multiple US state and local jurisdictions and a number of foreign jurisdictions. The Company’s federal income tax returns for FY03, FY04, FY05 and FY07 have been audited by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). An audit of the FY07 has been completed by the IRS. The Company has received a final “No Change Letter” from the IRS for FY07. The Company has received notice from the IRS that it will shortly commence an audit for the FY09 tax return.

Our three major foreign tax jurisdictions are China, Canada and Brazil. According to China tax regulatory framework, there is no statute of limitation on fraud or any criminal activities to deceive tax authorities. However, the general practice is going back five years, and general practice for records maintenance is 15 years. China tax authorities have performed limited reviews on all China subsidiaries as of tax years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 with no significant issues noted. We believe our tax positions are reasonably stated.

Lakeland Protective Wear, Inc., our Canadian subsidiary, follows Canada tax regulatory framework recording its tax expense and tax deferred assets or liabilities. As of this statement filing date, we believe the Company’s tax situation is reasonably stated, and we do not anticipate future tax liability.

The Company’s Brazilian subsidiary is currently under a tax audit, which raised some issues regarding the tax impact related to the merger held in 2008 and the resulting goodwill resulting from the structure which was set up at the Company's Brazilian counsel's suggestion. The Company has not received any formal communication from the authorities. There is no formal claim received, and there may not be such a claim in any case. However, this structure is relatively common in acquisitions of Brazilian operations made by non-Brazilian companies. In general, acquisitions with this structure have survived challenge by the taxing authorities in Brazil. The cumulative amount of tax benefits recognized on the Company’s books through April 30, 2012, resulting from the tax deduction of the goodwill amortization is approximately USD$850,000. This results from the goodwill on the Brazilian books which, for Brazilian tax purposes, is eligible for tax write-off over a five year period dating from November 2008.