6. INCOME TAXES

The U.S. and international components of income before taxes are as follows (in millions):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
U.S.	$	110.6	$	79.5	$	87.2
International	125.2		140.8		98.6
Income before taxes	$	235.8	$	220.3	$	185.8

The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in millions):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Current tax expense (benefit):
U.S. Federal	$	28.6		$	(5.1	)	$	24.9
State	3.4			3.9			4.4
International	35.8			35.2			17.3
Current tax expense	67.8			34.0			46.6
Deferred tax expense (benefit):
U.S. Federal	6.7			5.9			(2.5		)
State	0.4			0.2			(0.3		)
International	(9.1		)	(10.2		)	(8.9		)
Deferred tax benefit	(2.0		)	(4.1		)	(11.7		)
Non-current tax (benefit) expense	(8.1		)	3.4			1.8
Provision for income taxes	$	57.7		$	33.3		$	36.7

The reconciliation between our effective tax rate on income before taxes and the statutory tax rate is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
U. S. statutory tax rate	35	%	35	%	35	%
Impact of foreign operations	(4	)	(6	)	(7	)
Research tax credits	(4	)	(4	)	(7	)
Tax settlements and adjustments to unrecognized tax benefits	(3	)	2		1
Repatriation of foreign earnings	—		(10	)	—
Other	—		(2	)	(2	)
Provision for income taxes	24	%	15	%	20	%

Deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect the tax effects of losses, credits, and temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows (in millions):



	December 31,
	2011			2010
Deferred tax assets:
Bad debt, inventory and warranty accruals	$	24.7		$	25.5
Other reserves	16.6			16.7
Tax credit and net operating loss carryforwards	64.2			35.7
Other	17.2			13.3
Valuation allowance	(48.9		)	(37.0		)
	73.8			54.2
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation	13.5			11.4
Basis of capital assets and investments	86.3			46.5
	99.8			57.9
Net deferred taxes	$	(26.0	)	$	(3.7	)

At December 31, 2011, Bio-Rad’s international subsidiaries had combined net operating loss carryforwards of $81.4 million. Of these loss carryforwards, $80.6 million have no expiration date. We believe that it is more likely than not that the benefit from these net operating loss carryforwards will not be realized. We have provided a valuation allowance of $24.8 million relating to these net operating loss carryforwards.

At December 31, 2011, Bio-Rad had U.S. Federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $56 million as a result of acquisitions. These carryforwards are subject to limitation on their utilization and will expire between 2018 and 2032. At December 31, 2011, Bio-Rad had U.S. Federal research tax credit carryforwards of $1.1 million, which are subject to limitations on their utilization.

At December 31, 2011, Bio-Rad had approximately $55 million of California net operating loss carryforwards related to the acquisition of QuantaLife. We believe that it is more likely than not that the benefit from these net operating loss carryforwards will not be realized and have recorded a full valuation allowance against these losses. At December 31, 2011, Bio-Rad had a deferred tax asset of $13.7 million relating to California research tax credit carryforwards, including $1.1 million from the acquisition of QuantaLife, which may be carried forward indefinitely. Based on our judgment and consistent with prior years, we have recorded a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset.

We believe that it is more likely than not that certain of these deferred tax assets described above will not be realized in the foreseeable future. If or when recognized, the tax benefits relating to any reversal of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets at December 31, 2011, other than those related to QuantaLife within the measurement period, will be recognized as a reduction of income tax expense.

The following table summarizes at December 31, 2011 the tax years that are either currently under audit or remain open and subject to examination by tax authorities in the major jurisdictions that Bio-Rad operates:




U.S.	2008-2011
Canada	2006-2011
France	2009-2011
Germany	2008-2011
Italy	2007-2011
Japan	2009-2011
Switzerland	2010-2011

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits for the year (in millions):



	2011			2010			2009
Unrecognized tax benefits – January 1	$	20.6		$	17.5		$	18.1
Additions to tax positions related to prior years	1.2			4.1			2.1
Reductions to tax positions related to prior years	(0.4		)	(0.1		)	(4.3		)
Additions to tax positions related to the current year	2.1			3.3			3.3
Settlements	(5.2		)	(0.1		)	—
Lapse of statute of limitations	(5.1		)	(4.1		)	(1.9		)
Currency translation	(0.3		)	—			0.2
Unrecognized tax benefits – December 31	$	12.9		$	20.6		$	17.5

Substantially all our unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 would affect the effective tax rate if recognized.

Bio-Rad recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. Related to the unrecognized tax benefits noted above, Bio-Rad has accrued interest of $2.1 million and $2.8 million as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

At December 31, 2011, we believe that it is reasonably possible that $2.8 million of our unrecognized tax benefits may be recognized by the end of 2012 as a result of statute lapses. These benefits are related to uncertainty regarding sustainability of certain deductions and credits for tax years that remain subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities.

In general, it is our practice and intention to reinvest the earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries in their operations. As of December 31, 2011, Bio-Rad had not made a provision for U.S. or additional foreign withholding taxes on approximately $433 million of the excess of the amount for financial reporting over the tax basis of investments in foreign subsidiaries that are essentially permanent in duration. Generally, such amounts become subject to U.S. taxation upon remittance of dividends and under certain other circumstances. If these earnings were repatriated to the U.S., the deferred tax liability associated with these temporary differences would be approximately $93 million.