Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

5. INCOME TAXES:

During the quarter ended September 30, 2011, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $81.7 million, or 35.4%of income before income tax provision. This compares to an income tax provision of $88.1 million, or 35.1%of income before income tax provision for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. The effective tax rate increased over the comparable prior period primarily due to elevated activity levels in the higher state tax jurisdiction of Pennsylvania and offset in part due to certain reconciling items related to the filing of the 2010 U.S. Income Tax return in the third quarter of 2011.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $183.4 million, or 36.3%of income before income tax provision. This compares to an income tax provision of $238.5 million, or 35.9%of income before income tax provision for the nine months ended September 30, 2010. The effective tax rate increased over the comparable prior period primarily due to elevated activity levels in the higher state tax jurisdiction of Pennsylvania as the higher effective tax rate is now being applied to the Company's prior temporary differences which increased the overall effective tax rate.