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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
The Company’s effective tax rates for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 were 37.1% and 36.8%, respectively. The Company's effective tax rates for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 were 39.8% and 28.4%. The effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was in line with the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, with the negative impact of certain non-deductible business expenses and foreign losses with no tax benefit largely offset by certain credits and deductions. The effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was higher than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, primarily due to certain non-deductible business expenses and foreign losses with no tax benefit, partially offset by certain credits and deductions.
The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2014 was lower than the statutory tax rate, inclusive of state income taxes, primarily due to the favorable settlement of the IRS audit for years 2009, 2010, and 2011. The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2014 was lower than the statutory tax rate, inclusive of state income taxes, primarily due to the impact of a tax election made in the first quarter of 2014 to classify one of our wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes (commonly referred to as a “check-the-box” election). As a result of this election, we expect to realize an income tax benefit of $13.8 million, of which $2.4 million is unrecognized, resulting in a net recognized tax benefit of $11.4 million. This recognized benefit was partially offset by $1.2 million in expenses in the first quarter of 2014 related to the establishment of a valuation allowance for certain foreign tax credits and increased deferred tax liabilities as a result of the aforementioned election.