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INCOME TAXES
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9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 28, 2014
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| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| INCOME TAXES |
NOTE 6. INCOME TAXES
Our effective tax rate for the year is expected to approximate 29.5 percent, excluding any one-time items that may arise. The expected tax rate does not include the benefits of the research tax credit which expired December 31, 2013 and has not yet been renewed by Congress. Our tax rate is generally less than the 35 percent U.S. statutory income tax rate primarily due to lower tax rates on foreign income.
The effective tax rates for the three and nine month periods ended September 28, 2014, were 34.4 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively. The tax rate for the three months ended September 28, 2014, included a $19 million discrete tax expense to reflect the reduction in value of state tax credits as a result of a favorable state tax rate change that will lower future taxes. Additionally, the tax rate for the nine month period included a second quarter $2 million discrete tax benefit for the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions related to multiple state audit settlements, a first quarter $12 million discrete tax expense attributable primarily to state deferred tax adjustments, as well as a first quarter $6 million discrete net tax benefit resulting from a $70 million dividend paid from China earnings generated prior to 2012.
Our effective tax rates for the three and nine month periods ended September 29, 2013, were 29.2 percent and 28.3 percent, respectively. These tax rates include a $7 million discrete net tax expense for the third quarter tax adjustments: $4 million expense attributable to prior year tax return true-up adjustments, $1 million benefit related to release of prior year tax reserves and a discrete tax charge for $4 million related to a third quarter enactment of U.K. tax law changes. In addition, the nine month tax rate includes a discrete tax benefit in the first quarter of 2013 of $28 million attributable to the reinstatement of the research credit back to 2012, as well as a discrete tax expense in the first quarter of 2013 of $17 million, which primarily relates to the write-off of a deferred tax asset deemed unrecoverable.
The increase in the three month effective tax rate from 2013 to 2014 is primarily due to unfavorable changes in the jurisdictional mix of pre-tax income and the 2014 unfavorable discrete tax items.
We anticipate that we may resolve tax matters related primarily to certain tax credits presently under examination in U.S. federal and state tax jurisdictions. As of September 28, 2014, we estimate that it is reasonably possible that unrecognized tax benefits may decrease in an amount ranging from $0 to $75 million in the next 12 months due to the resolution of these issues. We do not expect this resolution to have a material impact on our results of operations.
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