NOTE 8 - INCOME TAXES

We calculate our provision for income taxes at the end of each interim reporting period on the basis of an estimated annual effective tax rate adjusted for tax items that are discrete to each period.

The effective tax rate of 25.0% differs from the U.S. statutory rate of 21.0% in the three-month period ended April 28, 2019, primarily due to the elimination of tax benefits in jurisdictions, including the U.S, in which it is not more likely than not that the benefit will be realized; the effects of these eliminations were partially offset by the benefits of tax holidays and investment credits in certain foreign jurisdictions.

The effective tax rate of 20.9% differs from the U.S. statutory rate of 21.0% in the six-month period ended April 28, 2019, primarily due to the elimination of the tax benefits in jurisdictions, including the U.S, in which it is not more likely than not that the benefit will be realized; the effects of these eliminations were partially offset by the benefits of the settlement of a tax audit, as well as a tax holiday and investment credits in certain foreign jurisdictions.

Unrecognized tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions were $0.8 million at April 28, 2019, and $1.9 million at October 31, 2018, all of which, if recognized, would favorably impact the Company’s effective tax rate. Accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits was $0.1 million at April 28, 2019 and October 31, 2018. The year to date reduction in the amount primarily resulted from settlement of a tax audit in Taiwan in Q1 FY19. Although the timing of the expirations of statutes of limitations may be uncertain, as they can be dependent upon the settlement of tax audits, the Company believes that it is reasonably possible that an immaterial amount of its uncertain tax positions (including accrued interest and penalties, net of tax benefits) may be resolved over the next twelve months. The resolution of these uncertain tax positions may result from either or both the lapses of statutes of limitations and tax settlements.

We were granted a five-year tax holiday in Taiwan which expires at the end of calendar year 2019. This tax holiday reduced foreign taxes by $0.3 million, and $1.1 million in the three and six-month periods ended April 28, 2019, and $0.7 and $0.8 million in the respective prior year periods. The per share impact of the tax holiday was a deminimus amount for the three-month period ended April 28, 2019, and one cent per share for the six-month periods ended April 28, 2019 and April 29, 2018, and the three-month period ended April 29, 2018.

The effective tax rates of 18.8% and 6.5% differ from the post U.S. Tax Reform blended statutory rate of 23.4% in the three and six-month periods ended April 29, 2018, primarily due to benefits from U.S. and Taiwan Tax Reform (as discussed below), earnings being taxed at lower statutory rates in foreign jurisdictions, and the benefits of various investment credits in a foreign jurisdiction.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), was signed into law, enacting significant changes to the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Based on the enactment date, we accounted for the Act in our interim period ended January 28, 2018. In December 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission released Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) to address situations in which the accounting under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 – “Income Taxes” is incomplete for certain income tax effects of the Act. We adopted SAB 118 in our first quarter of fiscal year 2018, and finalized the effects in our fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. In the period ended January 28, 2018, we recognized the following effects in our provision for income taxes:

•

The Act repealed the corporate alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, and provided that existing AMT credit carryforwards are fully refundable. We recognized a $3.9 million benefit on AMT credit carryforwards that we previously determined were not more likely than not going to be realized and reversed the previously-recorded valuation allowance.

•

As of January 1, 2018, the Act reduced the corporate income tax rate from a maximum 35% to a flat 21%, requiring us to revalue our deferred tax assets and liabilities utilizing the rate applicable to the period when a temporary difference will reverse. Our net deferred tax asset is fully offset by a valuation allowance, and the revaluation of the deferred tax assets and liabilities resulted in a net zero impact for the period.

•

The Act imposed a transition tax for a one-time deemed repatriation of the accumulated earnings of foreign subsidiaries. The entire amount of transition tax was fully offset by tax credits (including carryforwards) that resulted in a provisional net zero impact on the period.

On January 18, 2018, the Taiwan Legislature Yuan approved amendments to the Income Tax Act, enacting an increase in the corporate tax rate from 17% to 20%, which required us to revalue our deferred tax assets and liabilities utilizing the rate applicable to the period when a temporary difference will reverse. Accordingly, a net benefit of $0.2 million is reflected in our tax provision for the period.

Adoption of New Accounting Standard

In the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-16 – “Intra-Entity Transfers Other Than Inventory”, which requires an entity to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. In connection therewith, we recorded a transition adjustment of $1.1 million that reduced prepaid income taxes (included in Other current assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets) against beginning retained earnings.