NOTE 17 – TAXES

U.S. Tax Reform

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act significantly revises the future ongoing U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering U. S. corporate income tax rates and implementing a territorial tax system. As the Company has a June 30 fiscal year-end, the lower corporate income tax rate will be phased in, resulting in a U.S. statutory federal rate of approximately 28% for our fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, and 21% for subsequent fiscal years.

There are also certain transitional impacts of the Tax Act. As part of the transition to the new territorial tax system, the Tax Act imposes a one-time repatriation tax on deemed repatriation of historical earnings of foreign subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2017, the provisional undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries were $22.8 million which the Company anticipates being able to offset fully with net operating loss carry forwards. In addition, the modified territorial tax system includes a new anti-deferral provision, referred to as global intangible low taxed income (“GILTI”), which subjects certain foreign income to current U.S. tax.

The changes included in the Tax Act are broad and complex. The final transition impacts of the Tax Act may differ from the above estimate, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations of the Tax Act, any legislative action to address questions that arise because of the Tax Act, any changes in accounting standards for income taxes or related interpretations in response to the Tax Act, or any updates or changes to estimates the company has utilized to calculate the transition impacts, including impacts from changes to current year earnings estimates and foreign exchange rates of foreign subsidiaries.

In December 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, “Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (“SAB 118”), which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Reform Act. Under SAB 118, companies are able to record a reasonable estimate of the impacts of the Tax Reform Act if one is able to be determined and report it as a provisional amount during the measurement period. The measurement period is not to extend beyond one year from the enactment date. Impacts of the Tax Reform Act that a company is not able to make a reasonable estimate for should not be recorded until a reasonable estimate can be made during the measurement period.

We currently anticipate finalizing and recording any resulting adjustments by the end of our current fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.