Note 5 - Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 5 - Income taxes 

The determination of the consolidated provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and related valuation allowances requires management to make judgments and estimates. As a company with subsidiaries in foreign jurisdictions, the process of calculating income taxes involves estimating current tax obligations and exposures in each jurisdiction as well as making judgments regarding the future recoverability of deferred tax assets. Income earned in the United Arab Emirates (the "U.A.E.") is not subject to local country income tax. Additionally, the relative proportion of taxable income earned domestically versus internationally can fluctuate significantly from period to period. Changes in the estimated level of annual pre-tax income, tax laws and the results of tax audits can affect the overall effective income tax rate, which impacts the level of income tax expense and net income. Judgments and estimates related to the Company's projections and assumptions are inherently uncertain; therefore, actual results could differ materially from projections. 

The Company's worldwide effective tax rate ("ETR") from operations for the three months ended October 31, 2022 and 2021 was 40% and 67%, respectively. The Company's worldwide ETR was 50% and 40% for the nine months ended October 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The change in the ETR is largely due to changes in the mix of income and loss in various jurisdictions.

The Company expects that future distributions from foreign subsidiaries will not be subject to incremental U.S. federal tax as they will either be remittances of previously taxed earnings and profits or eligible for a full dividends-received deduction. Current and future earnings in the Company's subsidiaries in Canada and Egypt are not permanently reinvested. The earnings from these subsidiaries are subject to tax in their local jurisdiction, including withholding taxes. As such, the Company has accrued a liability of $0.6 million as of October 31, 2022 related to these taxes.

The Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") was signed into law in August 2022.  The Company has evaluated the provisions of the IRA and does not expect any material impact to our consolidated provision for income taxes.