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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes

For the quarter ended September 29, 2018, the Company recorded income tax expense of $49,487 on earnings before income taxes of $277,513 for an effective tax rate of 17.8%, as compared to an income tax expense of $100,532 on earnings before income taxes of $371,554, for an effective tax rate of 27.1% for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. For the nine months ended September 29, 2018, the Company recorded income tax expense of $215,928 on earnings before income taxes of $850,740 for an effective tax rate of 25.4% as compared to an income tax expense of $251,572 on earnings before income taxes of $985,398, for an effective tax rate of 25.5% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

The effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2018 were unfavorably impacted by Notice 2018-26, issued by the Department of the Treasury on April 2, 2018, which provided additional guidance on determining the amount of gross income to be recognized by U.S. taxpayers under the deemed repatriation of previously deferred foreign earnings. The effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2018 were favorably impacted by tax reforms in Belgium and the U.S., which reduced the statutory rates from 33.99% to 29.58%, and 35% to 21%, respectively. The effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 were both favorably impacted by discrete items.

On December 22, 2017, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), which provided guidance on accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA"). SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the enactment date of the TCJA for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740, Income Taxes ("ASC 740"). In accordance with SAB 118, a company must (1) reflect the income tax effects of those aspects of TCJA for which the accounting under ASC 740 is complete, (2) record a provisional estimate for those aspects of TCJA for which the accounting is incomplete but a reasonable estimate can be made, and/or (3) continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of tax laws in effect immediately before the enactment of the TCJA if no reasonable estimate can be made. The Company has not completed its accounting for the income tax effects of the TCJA but this will be completed within the one-year time period permitted by SAB 118.

As disclosed in its December 31, 2017 10-K, the Company was able to make reasonable estimates and recorded a provisional amount in 2017 for the reduction of the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. This estimate may be affected in future periods by other analysis to the TCJA, including, but not limited to, calculations of deemed repatriation of deferred foreign income and the state tax effect, expenditures that qualify for immediate expensing, and amounts limited for payments to covered employees. The Company analyzed Notice 2018-26, and has recorded $54,674 of additional net tax expense resulting from an increase of $100,865 for estimated Deemed Repatriation Transition Tax ("Transition Tax"), and decreases of $27,485 and $18,706 for reversals of unrecognized tax liabilities and transaction tax liabilities, respectively, during the nine months ended September 29, 2018.
 
The Transition Tax is a tax on previously untaxed earnings and profits (“E&P”) of certain foreign subsidiaries. To determine the amount of the Transition Tax, the Company must determine, in addition to other factors, the amount of post-1986 E&P of the relevant foreign subsidiaries, as well as the amount of non-U.S. income tax paid on such earnings. The Company made a provisional estimate of the Transition Tax obligation in 2017 and updated the provisional amount in the second quarter of 2018; however, the Company is continuing to gather additional information to compute a more precise amount. As of September 29, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company has a liability of $206,030 and $105,165, respectively, related to Transition Tax and will elect to pay the transition tax liability over the 8-year deferral period, with 8% due in each of the first five years, 15% in the sixth year, 20% in the seventh year, and 25% in the eighth year. As of September 29, 2018, $17,522 of the Transition Tax obligation is current, with the remaining $188,508 recorded in other long-term liabilities within the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Because of the complexity of the new Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) rules, the Company is continuing to evaluate this provision of the TCJA and the application of ASC 740. Accordingly, the accounting is incomplete, and the Company is not yet able to make reasonable estimates of the effects; therefore, no provisional estimates were recorded. Under U.S. GAAP, the Company is allowed to make an accounting policy choice of either (1) treating taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (2) factoring such amounts into a company’s measurement of its deferred taxes (the “deferred method”). The Company’s selection of an accounting policy with respect to the new GILTI tax rules will depend on complex calculations that the Company is unable to reasonably estimate at this time.

The Company will continue to evaluate the interpretations of the TCJA, the assumptions made within the calculations, and future guidance that may be issued to determine the impact, if any, on these provisional calculations, which may materially change the Company’s tax determinations.