net, and the favorable U.S. dollar translation of foreign currency denominated profits resulted in an increase to consolidated income before income taxes of approximately $95 million for fiscal 2005 compared to the prior year.

Income Taxes

	

Fiscal 2006 Compared to Fiscal 2005

Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2006 was consistent with the rate reported for fiscal 2005.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2006, our CEO and Board of Directors approved a domestic reinvestment plan as required by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the “Act”) to repatriate $500 million of foreign earnings in fiscal 2006. The Act creates a temporary incentive for U.S. multinational corporations to repatriate accumulated income earned outside the U.S. by providing an 85% dividend received deduction for certain dividends from controlled foreign corporations. A $500 million repatriation was made during the quarter ending May 31, 2006 comprised of both foreign earnings for which U.S. taxes has previously been provided and foreign earnings that had been designated as permanently reinvested. Accordingly, the provisions made did not have a material impact on the Company’s income tax expense or effective tax rate for the year.

Fiscal 2005 Compared to Fiscal 2004

Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2005 was slightly higher than the fiscal 2004 rate primarily due to decreases in tax credits partially offset by lower taxes on foreign earnings in fiscal 2005.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, we decided to repatriate $500 million of foreign earnings during fiscal 2006 under the Act. As discussed above, because we elected to repatriate a combination of foreign earnings for which U.S. taxes had previously been provided and foreign earnings that had been designated as permanently reinvested, the provisions made did not have a material impact on our income tax expense or our effective tax rate for fiscal 2005.

Futures Orders

Worldwide futures and advance orders for footwear and apparel scheduled for delivery from June through November 2006 were 5.0% higher than such orders reported for the comparable period of fiscal 2005. This futures growth rate is calculated based upon our forecasts of the actual exchange rates under which our revenues will be translated during this period, which approximate current spot rates. The net effect from changes in currency exchange rates did not have a significant impact on this reported growth versus the same period last year. Slightly higher average selling prices for both footwear and apparel contributed approximately 1 percentage point of the growth in overall futures and advance orders. The remaining 4 percentage points of the increase were due to volume increases for both footwear and apparel. The reported futures and advance orders growth is not necessarily indicative of our expectation of revenue growth during this period. This is because the mix of orders can shift between advance/futures and at-once orders. In addition, exchange rate fluctuations as well as differing levels of order cancellations and discounts can cause differences in the comparisons between futures and advance orders, and actual revenues. Moreover, a