INCOME TAXES | NOTE 5. INCOME TAXES The geographic distribution of pretax income from continuing operations was as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Domestic $ 24,541 $ 17,526 $ (20,597) Foreign 124,170 140,621 87,791 $ 148,711 $ 158,147 $ 67,194 The provision for income taxes from continuing operations is summarized as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Current: Federal $ (2,468) $ 5,475 $ (9,627) State 929 1,927 882 Foreign 14,217 16,216 18,429 Total current provision 12,678 23,618 9,684 Deferred: Federal 762 (312) 3,822 State (200) 1,270 (178) Foreign 764 (1,580) (2,629) Total deferred provision (benefit) 1,326 (622) 1,015 Total provision for income taxes $ 14,004 $ 22,996 $ 10,699 Our effective tax rates differ from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 primarily due to the benefit of earnings in foreign jurisdictions which are subject to lower tax rates as well as reductions in uncertain tax positions and tax credits, offset by net U.S. tax on foreign operations, withholding taxes, and audit settlements. The principal causes of the difference between the federal statutory rate and the effective income tax rate for each of the years below are as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Income taxes per federal statutory rate $ 31,229 $ 33,211 $ 14,111 State income taxes, net of federal deduction 534 2,793 10 U.S. tax on foreign operations 5,786 9,666 5,805 Foreign derived intangible income deduction (3,927) (4,070) — Tax effect of foreign operations (11,520) (20,527) (13,086) Uncertain tax positions (6,899) (3,215) (4,487) Audit settlements 7,764 — — Unremitted earnings 261 (567) 1,624 Tax credits (6,149) (2,292) (2,088) Change in valuation allowance (73) (1,175) 7,222 Withholding taxes 756 4,265 6,500 Executive compensation limitation 1,926 1,070 356 Other permanent items, net (5,684) 3,837 (5,268) Total provision for income taxes $ 14,004 $ 22,996 $ 10,699 Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences of differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to be reversed. Significant deferred tax assets and liabilities consist of the following: Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 Deferred tax assets Stock-based compensation $ 2,528 $ 2,130 Net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards 54,210 57,590 Interest expense limitation 7,344 7,344 Pension obligation 10,778 14,297 Excess and obsolete inventory 3,325 3,722 Accrued restructuring 2,223 2,468 Deferred revenue 4,195 3,048 Employee bonuses and commissions 3,861 5,388 Amortization 26,358 28,786 Operating lease liabilities 19,405 20,267 Other 8,017 8,925 Deferred tax assets 142,244 153,965 Less: Valuation allowance (42,051) (46,702) Net deferred tax assets 100,193 107,263 Deferred tax liabilities Depreciation and amortization 37,515 40,266 Unremitted earnings 4,435 4,173 Operating lease right-of-use assets 17,558 18,731 Other 3,364 3,380 Deferred tax liabilities 62,872 66,550 Net deferred tax assets $ 37,321 $ 40,713 Of the $37.3 million and $40.7 million net deferred tax asset on December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, $47.2 million and $50.8 million is reflected as a net non-current deferred tax asset and $9.9 million and $10.1 million is reflected as a long-term liability on December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we have recorded a valuation allowance on $4.0 million of our U.S. domestic deferred tax assets, largely attributable to state carryforward attributes that are expected to expire before sufficient income can be realized in those jurisdictions. The remaining valuation allowance on deferred tax assets approximates $38.0 million and is associated primarily with operations in Germany, Hong Kong, and Switzerland. As of December 31, 2021, there is not sufficient positive evidence to conclude that such deferred tax assets, presently reduced by a valuation allowance, will be recognized. The December 31, 2021 valuation allowance balance reflects a decrease of $4.7 million during the year. The change in the valuation allowance is primarily due to decreases from foreign exchange movements and current year activity. As of December 31, 2021, we had U.S., foreign and state tax loss carryforwards of $56.9 million, $129.0 million, and $117.1 million, respectively. Additionally, we had $0.8 million and $30.5 million of capital loss and interest expense limitation carryforwards, respectively. Finally, we had U.S. and state tax credit carryforwards of $1.5 million and $1.7 million, respectively. The U.S. and state net operating losses, tax credits, and interest expense limitation are subject to various utilization limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and applicable state laws. These Section 382 limited attributes have various expiration periods through 2036 or, in the case of the interest expense limitation amount, no expiration period. Much of the foreign jurisdiction, and $8.0 million of the federal net operating loss carry forwards, have no expiration period. We operate under a tax holiday in Singapore and China. These tax holidays are in effect through June 30, 2027 and December 31, 2022, respectively. The tax holiday is conditional upon our meeting certain employment and investment thresholds. The impact of the tax holidays decreased foreign taxes by $13.3 million and $13.0 million for 2021 and 2020, respectively. The benefit of the tax holiday on earnings per diluted share was $0.35 and $0.34 for 2021 and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we have undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries of approximately $32.4 million that we have indefinitely invested, and on which we have not recognized deferred taxes. Estimating the amount of potential tax is not practicable because of the complexity and variety of assumptions necessary to compute the tax. We account for uncertain tax positions by applying a minimum recognition threshold to tax positions before recognizing these positions in the financial statements. The reconciliation of our total gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Balance at beginning of period $ 9,673 $ 13,009 $ 13,162 Additions based on tax positions taken during a prior period 963 219 484 Additions based on tax positions taken during a prior period - acquisitions — — 4,479 Additions based on tax positions taken during the current period 566 — — Reductions based on tax positions taken during a prior period — — (4,295) Reductions related to a lapse of applicable statute of limitations (4,575) (3,555) (821) Reductions related to a settlement with taxing authorities (1,114) — — Balance at end of period $ 5,513 $ 9,673 $ 13,009 The unrecognized tax benefits of $5.5 million, if recognized, will impact our effective tax rate. In accordance with our accounting policy, we recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of tax expense. We had $0.4 million and $3.2 million of accrued interest and penalties on December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to federal, state, or foreign income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2018. |