INCOME TAXES |
6 Months Ended |
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Sep. 29, 2018 | |
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| INCOME TAXES |
INCOME TAXES
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted the Tax Act, which included a broad range of complex provisions impacting the taxation of multi-national companies. Generally, accounting for the impacts of newly enacted tax legislation is required to be completed in the period of enactment; however, in response to the complexities and ambiguity surrounding the Tax Act, the SEC released SAB 118 to provide companies with relief around the initial accounting for the Tax Act. Pursuant to SAB 118, the SEC has provided a one-year measurement period for companies to analyze and finalize accounting for the Tax Act. During the one-year measurement period, SAB 118 allows companies to recognize provisional amounts when reasonable estimates can be made for the impacts resulting from the Tax Act.
During the fourth quarter of 2017, VF recognized a provisional charge of approximately $465.5 million to reflect the impacts resulting from the Tax Act, primarily comprised of approximately $512.4 million related to the transition tax and approximately $89.5 million of tax benefits related to revaluing U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities using the new U.S. corporate tax rate of 21%. Other provisional charges of $42.6 million were primarily related to U.S. federal and state tax on foreign income and dividends and establishing a deferred tax liability for foreign withholding taxes as the Company is not asserting indefinite reinvestment on short-term liquid assets of certain foreign subsidiaries. All other foreign earnings, including basis differences of certain foreign subsidiaries, continue to be considered indefinitely reinvested. All amounts recorded in 2017 related to the Tax Act remain provisional.
On August 1, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department released proposed regulations covering the transition tax. VF has evaluated the proposed regulations, noting certain guidance that is unclear or inconsistent with our interpretation of the Tax Act. Proposed regulations are not authoritative and are subject to change during the regulatory review process. However, depending on how the proposed regulations are finalized, VF may be required to record up to $100 million of additional tax expense related to the transition tax in the quarter the regulations become final.
Under GAAP, companies are allowed to make an accounting policy election to either treat taxes resulting from GILTI as a current-period expense when they are incurred or factor such amounts into the measurement of deferred taxes. The Company has not completed its analysis related to this accounting policy election and has therefore considered the taxes resulting from GILTI as a current-period expense for the six-month period ended September 2018. See Note 2 for additional discussion on GILTI policy election.
The Tax Act has significant complexity and our final tax liability may materially differ from provisional estimates due to additional guidance and regulations that may be issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and state and local tax authorities, and for VF's finalization of the relevant calculations required by the new tax legislation. VF will finalize accounting for the Tax Act during the one-year measurement period, and any adjustments to the provisional amounts will be included in income tax expense or benefit in the appropriate periods, and disclosed if material, in accordance with guidance provided by SAB 118.
The effective income tax rate for the six months ended September 2018 was 15.1% compared to 15.4% in the 2017 period. The six months ended September 2018 included a net discrete tax benefit of $3.2 million, which included a $19.8 million tax benefit related to stock compensation, $1.9 million of net tax expense related to unrecognized tax benefits and interest, $12.9 million of net tax expense related to adjustments to provisional amounts recorded in 2017 under the Tax Act and $1.6 million of tax expense related to adjustments to previously recognized state income tax credits. The $3.2 million net discrete tax benefit in the six months ended September 2018 reduced the effective income tax rate by 0.4%. The 2017 period included a net discrete tax benefit of $13.3 million, which included a $9.6 million tax benefit related to stock compensation, $6.0 million of net tax benefits related to the realization of previously unrecognized tax benefits and interest, and $1.9 million of discrete tax expense related to the effects of tax rate changes. The $13.3 million net discrete tax benefit in the 2017 period decreased the effective income tax rate by 2.0%. Without discrete items, the effective income tax rate for the six months ended September 2018 decreased by 1.9% compared with the 2017 period primarily due to a lower U.S. corporate income tax rate that was effective beginning January 1, 2018.
VF files a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return, as well as separate and combined income tax returns in numerous state and international jurisdictions. In the U.S., the IRS examinations for tax
years through 2014 have been effectively settled. The examination of Timberland’s 2011 tax return is ongoing. The IRS has proposed material adjustments to Timberland’s 2011 tax return that would significantly impact tax expense and assessment of interest charges. The Company has formally disagreed with the proposed adjustments. During 2015, VF filed a petition to the U.S. Tax Court to begin the process of resolving this matter, but it has not yet reached a resolution. In addition, VF is currently subject to examination by various state and international tax authorities. Management regularly assesses the potential outcomes of both ongoing and future examinations for the current and prior years, and has concluded that VF’s provision for income taxes is adequate. The outcome of any one examination is not expected to have a material impact on VF’s consolidated financial statements. Management believes that some of these audits and negotiations will conclude during the next 12 months.
VF was granted a ruling which lowered the effective income tax rate on taxable earnings for years 2010 through 2014 under Belgium’s excess profit tax regime. In February 2015, the European Union Commission (“EU”) opened a state aid investigation into Belgium’s rulings. On January 11, 2016, the EU announced its decision that these rulings were illegal and ordered that tax benefits granted under these rulings should be collected from the affected companies, including VF. On March 22, 2016, the Belgium government filed an appeal seeking annulment of the EU decision. Additionally, on June 21, 2016, VF Europe BVBA filed its own application for annulment of the EU decision. Both of the listed requests for annulment remain open and unresolved.
On December 22, 2016, Belgium adopted a law which entitled the Belgium tax authorities to issue tax assessments, and demand timely payments from companies which benefited from the excess profits regime. On January 10, 2017, VF Europe BVBA received an assessment for €31.9 million tax and interest related to excess profits benefits received in prior years. VF Europe BVBA remitted €31.9 million ($33.9 million) on January 13, 2017, which was recorded as an income tax receivable based on the expected success of the aforementioned requests for annulment. An additional assessment of €3.1 million ($3.8 million) was received and paid in January 2018. If this matter is adversely resolved, these amounts will not be collected by VF.
During the six months ended September 2018, the amount of net unrecognized tax benefits and associated interest increased by $1.0 million to $170.1 million. Management believes that it is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized income tax benefits and interest may decrease during the next 12 months by approximately $8.0 million related to the completion of examinations and other settlements with tax authorities and the expiration of statutes of limitations, of which $5.6 million would reduce income tax expense.
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