Note 11. Income Taxes:

Income before income taxes was comprised of the following (in thousands):

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):

The Company’s effective income tax rate for fiscal 2021 was 5.8% vs 17.1% in the prior year. The change in the effective tax rate for fiscal 2021 and 2020 was driven by changes in net discrete tax benefits of $28.1 million and $19.4 million for fiscal year 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The Company's effective income tax rate for fiscal 2020 was 17.1% for fiscal 2020 vs 14.2% in the prior year. The change in the effective tax rate for fiscal 2020 and 2019 were driven by the changes in the net discrete tax benefits $19.4 million and $12.7 million, respectively. 

The Company's discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2021 primarily related to share-based compensation excess tax benefits of $28.1 million.

The Company's discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2020 primarily related to share-based compensation excess tax benefits of $17.7 million.

The Company's discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2019 primarily related to share-based compensation excess tax benefits of $7.2 million, $3.2 million related to fiscal 2019 acquisitions, and $2.0 million for tax refunds relating to certain state apportionments. 

The Company continues to monitor newly enacted regulations, clarifications, and changes in guidance the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act “Tax Act”, which was enacted on  December 22, 2017. The Company recognizes changes in legislation in the period enacted, which may have a material impact on our effective tax rate in future periods.

The following is a reconciliation of the federal tax calculated at the statutory rate of to the actual income taxes provided:

Deferred taxes on the Consolidated Balance Sheets consisted of the following temporary differences (in thousands):

A deferred tax valuation allowance is required when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized. The valuation allowance as of June 30, 2021 was $6.7 million compared to $7.5 million in the prior year. 

As of June 30, 2021, the $6.7 million valuation allowance relates to certain foreign and state tax net operating loss and state credit carryforwards that existed at the date the Company acquired Quad, ExosomeDx, ACD, Novus, ProteinSimple and CyVek as well as immaterial amounts generated after the acquisitions. The Company believes it is more likely than not that these tax carryovers will not be realized.

As of June 30, 2021, the Company has federal operating loss carryforwards of approximately $92.1 million and state operating loss carryforwards of $129.6 million from its acquisitions of Asuragen (refer to note 4), Quad, ExosomeDx, ACD, ProteinSimple and CyVek, which are not limited under IRC Section 382. As of June 30, 2021, the Company has foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $13.9 million. The net operating loss carryforwards expire between fiscal 2022 and 2036. The Company has a deferred tax asset of $26.6 million, net of the valuation allowance discussed above, related to the net operating loss carryovers. As of June 30, 2021, the Company has federal and state tax credit carryforwards of $10.1 million and $4.4 million, respectively. The federal tax credit carryforwards expire between 2028 and 2038. The majority of the state credit carryforwards have no expiry date. The Company has a deferred tax asset of $12.6 million, net of the valuation allowance discussed above, related to the tax credit carryovers.

The Company has not recognized a deferred tax liability for unremitted foreign earnings of approximately $223 million from its foreign operations because its subsidiaries have invested or will invest the undistributed earnings indefinitely. The transition tax included as part of the Tax Act resulted in the previously untaxed foreign earnings being included in the federal and state fiscal 2018 taxable income. The one-time transition tax was based on certain foreign earnings for which earnings have been previously indefinitely reinvested as well as the amount of earnings held in cash and other specified assets.   No additional income taxes have been provided for cumulative unremitted foreign earnings as at this time our intention with respect to unremitted foreign earnings is to continue to indefinitely reinvest outside the U.S. those earnings needed for working capital or additional foreign investment. If there are policy changes, we would record applicable taxes at that time.

We continue to analyze our global working capital requirements and the potential tax liabilities that would be incurred if the non-U.S. subsidiaries distribute cash to the U.S. parent, which include local country withholding tax and potential U.S. state taxation.  In addition, we anticipate that further guidance from the IRS and US Treasury related to the Tax Act could impact the amount of any related taxes. Therefore, it is not practical to estimate the amount of the deferred income tax liabilities related to investments in these foreign subsidiaries.

The following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balance of unrecognized tax benefits (in thousands):

Included in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits at June 30, 2021 are potential benefits of $5.2 million that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate on income from continuing operations. The amount of interest and penalties recognized on the balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 is not material. The Company does not believe it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase in the next twelve months. It is reasonably possible that the unrecognized tax benefits may decrease by $2.6 million as a result of ongoing discussions with the German tax authorities regarding a historical local matter. The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal and certain state tax jurisdictions, and several jurisdictions outside the U.S. The Company's federal returns are subject to tax assessment for 2017 and subsequent years. State and foreign income tax returns are generally subject to examination for a period of three to five years after filing of the respective return. The state impact of any federal changes remains subject to examination by various states for a period of up to one year after formal notification to the states.