NOTE 11 - INCOME TAXES

Income before the income tax provisions consist of the following:

	Year Ended
	November 1, 2015		November 2, 2014			November 3, 2013

United States	$	6,646	$	(23,083	)	$	(14,164	)
Foreign		63,394		64,413			40,969
	$	70,040	$	41,330		$	26,805

The income tax provisions consist of the following:

	Year Ended
	November 1, 2015			November 2, 2014			November 3, 2013
Current:
Federal	$	160		$	354		$	208
State		(109	)		-			65
Foreign		9,729			4,726			7,222

Deferred:
Federal		-			-			-
State		7			(5	)		(181	)
Foreign		3,394			4,220			(85	)
Total	$	13,181		$	9,295		$	7,229

The income tax provisions differ from the amount computed by applying the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate to income before income taxes as a result of the following:

	Year Ended
	November 1, 2015			November 2, 2014			November 3, 2013
U.S. federal income tax at statutory rate	$	24,514		$	14,465		$	9,382
Changes in valuation allowances		(11,471	)		(7,575	)		1,325
Distributions from foreign subsidiaries		448			12,674			1,957
State income taxes, net of federal benefit		263			(141	)		267
Foreign tax rate differentials		(4,356	)		(4,864	)		(4,851	)
Tax credits		(2,729	)		(2,847	)		(3,967	)
Uncertain tax positions, including reserves, settlements and resolutions		(175	)		(2,255	)		1,471
Gain on acquisition of DPTT		-			(5,748	)		-
Intercompany gain elimination		-			4,759			-
Tax on foreign subsidiary earnings		6,589			-			-
Equity based compensation		634			714			765
Other, net		(536	)		113			880
	$	13,181		$	9,295		$	7,229

The effective tax rate differs from the U.S. statutory rate of 35% in fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013 primarily due to earnings, including the fiscal year 2014 gain on acquisition of DPTT, being taxed at lower statutory rates in foreign jurisdictions, combined with the benefit of various investment credits in a foreign jurisdiction. Valuation allowances in jurisdictions with historic and continuing losses eliminate the effective rate impact of these jurisdictions.

The net deferred income tax assets consist of the following:

	As of
	November 1, 2015			November 2, 2014
Deferred income tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	56,582		$	64,529
Reserves not currently deductible		8,158			6,948
Alternative minimum tax credits		3,281			3,121
Tax credit carryforwards		8,809			8,368
Other		1,782			1,773
		78,612			84,739
Valuation allowances		(38,763	)		(49,548	)
		39,849			35,191
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries		(5,953	)		(5,366	)
Property, plant and equipment		(17,874	)		(11,503	)
Investments		(4,596	)		(2,660	)
Other		(552	)		(448	)
		(28,975	)		(19,977	)
Net deferred income tax assets	$	10,874		$	15,214
Reported as:
Current deferred tax assets	$	3,354		$	7,223
Noncurrent deferred tax assets		11,908			11,036
Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities		(4,388	)		(3,045	)
	$	10,874		$	15,214

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows:

	Year Ended
	November 1, 2015			November 2, 2014			November 3, 2013
Balance at beginning of year	$	4,993		$	4,757		$	3,793

Additions (reductions) for tax positions in prior years		(212	)		3,437			1,224

Additions based on current year tax positions		318			272			207

Settlements		(720	)		(3,155	)		(406	)

Lapses of statutes of limitations		(350	)		(318	)		(61	)
Balance at end of year	$	4,029		$	4,993		$	4,757

Unrecognized tax benefits associated with uncertain tax positions were $4.1 million at November 1, 2015, which is recorded in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet and were $5.1 million at November 2, 2014, of which $5.0 million is recorded in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet, and $0.1 million is recorded as a reduction to deferred tax assets. If recognized, $4.1 million of the benefits would favorably impact the Company's effective tax rate in future periods. Included in these amounts in fiscal years 2015 and 2014 were $0.1 million of interest and penalties. The Company includes any applicable interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in its income tax provision. The above table includes the fiscal year 2015 settlement of two foreign audits and the recognition of previously unrecognized tax benefits resulting from the lapse of their assessment periods. Included within fiscal year 2014 is the settlement of an Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) income tax examination of the Company’s 2011 and 2012 federal income tax returns, as well as the recognition of previously unrecognized tax benefits resulting from the lapse of the assessment periods, which were offset in part by uncertain tax positions related to the acquisition of DPTT (as discussed in Note 2). The IRS income tax settlement had limited impact on fiscal year 2014 income tax expense, as the changes that resulted from the examination were offset by loss carryforwards, for which the related deferred tax assets were subject to valuation allowances. Shortly after the close of the 2013 fiscal year, the Company reached a settlement with the relevant tax authorities regarding one of its non-US subsidiary’s 2010 tax year, as reflected in the fiscal 2013 table above. As of November 1, 2015, the Company does not believe it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease in the next twelve months. The Company is no longer subject to examination by the U.S. for years prior to and including fiscal year 2012. With respect to major foreign and state tax jurisdictions, the Company is no longer subject to tax authority examinations for years prior to and including fiscal year 2011.

The following tables present the Company’s available operating loss and credit carryforwards at November 1, 2015, and the related expiration periods:

Operating Loss Carryforwards

	Amount		Expiration Period
Federal	$	120,263		2023-2035

State	$	214,591		2016-2035

Foreign	$	35,464		2016-2023

Tax Credit Carryforwards

	Amount		Expiration Period
Federal research and development	$	4,337		2019-2035

Federal alternative minimum tax	$	3,281	Indefinite

State tax	$	6,879		2016-2029

Included in the above foreign operating loss carryforward amount is $3.5 million of the $58.6 million operating loss carryforward amount acquired in the DPTT acquisition.

The Company has established a valuation allowance for a portion of its deferred tax assets because it believes, based on the weight of all available evidence, that it is more likely than not that a portion of its net operating loss carryforwards will expire prior to utilization. The valuation allowance increased (decreased) by $(10.8 million), $(7.1 million) and $1.1 million in fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. During fiscal year 2015, the Company determined that sufficient positive evidence existed in two foreign jurisdictions that it was more likely than not that additional deferred taxes of $2.4 million were realizable and, therefore, reduced the valuation allowance accordingly.

As of November 1, 2015, the undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries included in consolidated retained earnings amounted to $161.4 million, of which $17.0 million is not considered to be permanently invested. No provision has been made for future U.S. taxes payable on the remaining undistributed earnings of $144.4 million, as they are expected to be indefinitely invested in foreign jurisdictions and, therefore, are not anticipated to be subject to U.S. tax. The amount of undistributed earnings is calculated taking into account the net amount of earnings of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, considering its multitier subsidiary structure, and translating those earnings into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect as of the balance sheet date. During fiscal year 2015, the Company determined that the historic and future accumulated earnings of a foreign subsidiary were not required for future investment due to changes in the operational structure of the subsidiary. Accordingly, a deferred tax liability of $5.7 million has been established on $16.4 million of earnings previously considered indefinitely invested. Prior to the fiscal 2014 acquisition of DPTT, PDMC (formerly PSMC), in accordance with the ownership provisions in the DPTT acquisition agreements, made a onetime remittance of $35 million of earnings that had been previously considered to be indefinitely invested. The Company has not changed its assertion on the balance of PDMC earnings which remain indefinitely invested. Should the Company elect in the future to repatriate the foreign earnings so invested, it may incur additional income tax expense on those foreign earnings, the amount of which is not practicable to compute.

PKLT, the Company's FPD manufacturing facility in Taiwan, has been accorded a tax holiday, which started in 2012 and expires in 2017. This tax holiday had no dollar or per share effect in the fiscal years ended November 1, 2015, November 2, 2014 and November 3, 2013. PDMC, which acquired an IC manufacturing facility in Taiwan as a result of the DPTT Acquisition, has been accorded a tax holiday that commenced in 2015 and expires in 2019. The Company realized $0.2 million in tax benefits from the PDMC tax holiday in the year ended November 1, 2015. The tax holiday had no per share effect on the Company’s financial results in the year ended November 1, 2015. In Korea, various investment tax credits have been earned to reduce the Company's effective income tax rate.

Income tax payments were $4.9 million, $5.2 million and $10.7 million in fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Cash received for refunds of income taxes paid in prior years amounted to $0.1 million, $1.4 million and $0.3 million in fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.