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Income Taxes
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
INCOME TAXES

The provision for income taxes for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2015 was $11.8 million and $29.1 million, respectively. The provision for income taxes for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2015 was primarily related to tax liability generated from U.S. and foreign operations, and foreign withholding taxes. The benefit from income taxes for the three months ended June 30, 2014 was $1.1 million and the provision for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2014 was $21.6 million. The benefit from income taxes for the three months ended June 30, 2014 was primarily due to a decrease in the forecasted effective tax rate applied to actual year-to-date income that remained relatively constant as compared to the first quarter of 2014. The provision for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2014 was primarily related to foreign withholding taxes and foreign tax liability generated from foreign operations. The Company's provision for income taxes is based on its worldwide estimated annualized effective tax rate, except for jurisdictions for which a loss is expected for the year and no benefit can be realized for those losses, and the tax effect of discrete items occurring during the period. The tax for jurisdictions for which a loss is expected and no benefit can be realized for the year is based on actual taxes and tax reserves for the quarter. The increase in the provision for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in the prior year is largely attributable to higher profitability in 2015 as compared to the prior year.
As of June 30, 2015, unrecognized tax benefits approximated $3.0 million, of which $1.3 million would affect the effective tax rate if recognized. At December 31, 2014, unrecognized tax benefits were $2.7 million of which $1.1 million would affect the effective tax rate if recognized. It is reasonably possible that unrecognized tax benefits may decrease by a range of $0.8 million to $1.0 million in the next 12 months due to the expected lapse of statutes of limitation relating to the federal and state research tax credit, certain domestic deductions, as well as foreign tax incentives.
It is the Company's policy to classify accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income taxes. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, the Company recognized an insignificant amount of interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits. As of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had accrued $0.4 million and $0.5 million, respectively, of interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits.
At June 30, 2015, the Company's 2010 through 2014 tax years were open and subject to potential examination in one or more jurisdictions. In addition, in the U.S., any net operating losses or credits that were generated in prior years but utilized in an open year may also be subject to examination. The Company recently completed an Internal Revenue Service examination related to its 2008 and 2009 tax returns which resulted in minimal changes to the statement of operations. The audit was settled last year but the Company is currently disputing the interest calculation for the audit assessment amount. The Company is currently under an Internal Revenue Service examination for the 2010 - 2013 tax years. The Company also is currently under examination in California for the 2011 and 2012 tax years.