Income Taxes (Notes) |
6 Months Ended |
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Mar. 26, 2017 | |
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| Income Taxes |
Income Taxes
The Company estimates its annual effective income tax rate to be approximately 17% for fiscal 2017, which is equal to its 17% effective income tax rate for fiscal 2016. Tax benefits from foreign income taxed at rates lower than rates in the United States are expected to be approximately 21% in fiscal 2017, compared to 16% in fiscal 2016. In the six months ended March 26, 2017, the Company recorded a charge of $921 million related to the KFTC fine (Note 6), which is not deductible for tax purposes and is attributable to both the United States and a foreign jurisdiction. The estimated annual effective tax rate of 17% for fiscal 2017 also reflects the increase in the Company’s Singapore tax rate as a result of the expiration of its tax exemption in March 2017, which is partially offset by tax benefits resulting from the increase in the Singapore tax rate that will be in effect when certain deferred tax assets are scheduled to reverse. The annual effective tax rate of 17% for fiscal 2016 reflected a $101 million tax benefit recorded discretely in the third quarter of fiscal 2016 resulting from a worthless stock deduction on a domestic subsidiary of one of the Company’s former display businesses and a $79 million benefit recorded discretely in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 related to fiscal 2015 resulting from the retroactive and permanent reinstatement of the United States federal research and development tax credit.
The effective tax rate of 13% for the second quarter of fiscal 2017 was less than the estimated annual effective tax rate of 17% primarily resulting from the reduction to the Company’s United States revenues related to the BlackBerry arbitration decision (Note 6).
Unrecognized tax benefits were $279 million and $271 million at March 26, 2017 and September 25, 2016, respectively. The Company believes that it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits at March 26, 2017 may increase or decrease in the next 12 months.
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