Note 7 – Income Taxes

Income tax expense (benefit) consists of the following:


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(in thousands)	2013			2012
Federal – Current	$	(666	)	$	144
Foreign – Current		1,660			678
State – Current		64			26
Deferred		1,719			1,798
	$	2,777		$	2,646

In 2013, income tax expense differs from the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate to income before income tax primarily due to the mix of taxable income by taxing jurisdiction, the impact of tax incentives and tax holidays in foreign locations, and state income taxes (net of federal benefit). Also in January 2013, the Company recorded $0.8 million of discrete tax benefits related to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). The ATRA retroactively restored the research and experimentation credit and other U.S. income tax benefits for 2012 and extends these provisions through the end of 2013.

The Company considers earnings from foreign subsidiaries to be indefinitely reinvested and, accordingly, no provision for U.S. federal and state income taxes has been made for these earnings. Upon distribution of foreign subsidiary earnings in the form of dividends or otherwise, such distributed earnings would be reportable for U.S. income tax purposes (subject to adjustment for foreign tax credits). Determination of the amount of any unrecognized deferred tax liability on these undistributed earnings is not practicable.

The Company has been granted certain tax incentives, including tax holidays, for its subsidiaries in Malaysia and Thailand that will expire at various dates, unless extended or otherwise renegotiated, through 2015 and 2018, respectively, and are subject to certain conditions with which the Company expects to comply. The net impact of these tax incentives was to lower income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2013, and 2012 by approximately $1.3 million (approximately $0.02 per diluted share) and $0.9 million (approximately $0.02 per diluted share), respectively as follows:


	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(in thousands)	2013		2012
China	$	-	$	231
Malaysia		241		95
Thailand		1,059		589
	$	1,300	$	915

The Company's Chinese subsidiary had a tax incentive that expired in 2012 and expects to submit an application for a new tax incentive in China during the second half of 2013.

As of March 31, 2013, the total amount of the reserve for uncertain tax benefits including interest and penalties is $21.3 million. The reserve is classified as a current or long-term liability in the consolidated balance sheet based on the Company's expectation of when the items will be settled. The amount of accrued potential interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits included in the reserve as of March 31, 2013, is $1.6 million and $1.6 million, respectively. No material changes affected the reserve during the three months ended March 31, 2013. A subsidiary of the Company in Thailand has filed for a refund of $8.8 million of previously paid income taxes applicable to the years 2004 and 2005, which is included in other assets. The Thai tax authorities conducted an initial examination of the applicable refund filings. During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company received official notification that the tax authorities have rejected its refund claim. The Company has filed an appeal of the rejected refund claim. During 2011, the Company recorded a reserve for uncertain benefits of $7.1 million against this refund claim.

The Company and its subsidiaries in Brazil, China, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, Singapore, Thailand and the United States remain open to examination by the various local taxing authorities, in total or in part, for fiscal years 2004 to 2012.

The Company is subject to examination by tax authorities for varying periods in various U.S. and foreign tax jurisdictions. During the course of such examinations disputes occur as to matters of fact and/or law. Also, in most tax jurisdictions the passage of time without examination will result in the expiration of applicable statutes of limitations thereby precluding the taxing authority from conducting an examination of the tax period(s) for which such statute of limitation has expired. The Company believes that it has adequately provided for its tax liabilities.