The effective tax rate was 25.8% for year-to-date fiscal 2019, and 29.8% for year-to-date of fiscal 2018. Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) issued by the SEC in December 2017 provided us with up to one year to finalize our measurement of the income tax effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“the Tax Act”) on our fiscal year ended January 28, 2018. The year-over-year decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to the adjustment of the provisional transition tax and the adjustment to the re-measurement of our deferred tax liabilities under SAB 118 in the first two quarters of fiscal 2018.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of August 4, 2019, we held $120,467,000 in cash and cash equivalents, the majority of which was held in interest bearing demand deposit accounts and money market funds, of which $98,512,000 was held by our international subsidiaries. As is consistent within our industry, our cash balances are seasonal in nature, with the fourth quarter historically representing a significantly higher level of cash than other periods.
In fiscal 2019, we plan to use our cash resources to fund our inventory and inventory related purchases, advertising and marketing initiatives, property and equipment purchases, stock repurchases and dividend payments. In addition to our cash balances on hand, we have a $500,000,000 unsecured revolving line of credit (“the revolver”) and a $300,000,000 unsecured term loan facility (“the term loan”). The revolver may be used to borrow revolving loans or request the issuance of letters of credit. We may, upon notice to the administrative agent, request existing or new lenders to increase the revolver by up to $250,000,000, at such lenders’ option, to provide for a total of $750,000,000 of unsecured revolving credit. For year-to-date fiscal 2019, we had borrowings of $60,000,000 under the revolver. For year-to-date fiscal 2018, we had no borrowings under the revolver. As of August 4, 2019, we had $300,000,000 outstanding under our term loan. The term loan matures on January 8, 2021, at which point all outstanding principal and any accrued interest must be repaid. Additionally, as of August 4, 2019, a total of $12,400,000 in issued but undrawn standby letters of credit was outstanding under the credit facility. The standby letters of credit were issued to secure the liabilities associated with workers’ compensation and other insurance programs.
As of August 4, 2019, we had three unsecured letter of credit reimbursement facilities for a total of $70,000,000, of which $7,356,000 was outstanding. These letter of credit facilities represent only a future commitment to fund inventory purchases to which we have not taken legal title. On August 23, 2019, we renewed all three of our letter of credit facilities for substantially similar terms.
We are currently in compliance with all of our financial covenants under the credit facility and, based on our current projections, we expect to remain in compliance throughout the next 12 months. We believe our cash on hand, in addition to our available credit facilities, will provide adequate liquidity for our business operations over the next 12 months.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
For year-to-date fiscal 2019, net cash used in operating activities was $26,636,000 compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $120,123,000 for year-to-date fiscal 2018. For year-to-date fiscal 2019, net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to a decrease in accounts payable and an increase in merchandise inventories, partially offset by net earnings adjusted for non-cash items. Net cash used in operating activities for year-to-date fiscal 2019 compared to net cash provided by operating activities for year-to-date fiscal 2018 was primarily due to a year-over-year reduction in accounts payable due to the timing of payments.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
For year-to-date fiscal 2019, net cash used in investing activities was $76,719,000 compared to $79,508,000 for year-to-date fiscal 2018, and was primarily attributable to purchases of property and equipment.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
For year-to-date fiscal 2019, net cash used in financing activities was $113,471,000 compared to $257,484,000 for year-to-date fiscal 2018. For year-to-date fiscal 2019, net cash used in financing activities was primarily attributable to the payment of dividends, repurchases of common stock and tax withholdings related to stock-based awards, partially offset by borrowings under our revolver. The decrease in cash used in financing activities for year-to-date fiscal 2019 compared to year-to-date fiscal 2018 was primarily attributable to a decrease in repurchases of common stock, as well as an increase in borrowings under our revolver.
Stock Repurchase Program and Dividends
See Note G to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements,
Stock Repurchase Program and Dividends,
within Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for further information.