Income Taxes



	Three Months Ended September 30,		Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011	2010	2011	2010
	(In percentages)
Effective income tax rate	17	23	23	21

The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 differs from the statutory rate due to foreign rate differentials and changes in uncertain tax positions, partially offset by foreign losses providing no tax benefit.

The higher effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 was primarily due to the 2010 effect of tax legislation in Mexico, partially offset by foreign losses not resulting in tax benefits and the effect of healthcare reform in the US.

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 were enacted. Under the new legislation, in years subsequent to 2012, the tax deductible prescription coverage is reduced by the amount of the subsidy offered under Medicare Part D. As a result, the Company reduced its deferred tax asset related to postretirement prescription drug coverage by the amount of the subsidy to be received subsequent to 2012. This reduction of $7 million to the Company’s deferred tax asset was recorded to Income tax (provision) benefit in the unaudited interim consolidated statements of operations during the three months ended March 31, 2010.

In March 2010, the Mexican tax authorities issued Miscellaneous Tax Resolutions (“MTRs”) to clarify various provisions included in the 2010 Mexican Tax Reform Bill (“Tax Reform Bill”) related to recapture amounts for 2004 and prior years, including certain aspects of the recapture rules related to income tax loss carryforwards, intercompany dividends and differences between consolidated and individual Mexican tax earnings and profits. At March 31, 2010, the application of the MTRs resulted in a reduction of $43 million to the $73 million income tax impact of the Tax Reform Bill that was initially recorded by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2009.

In December 2010, the Mexican tax authorities issued additional MTRs addressing tax year 2005 and subsequent periods. The MTRs issued in March 2010 and December 2010 eliminated the recapture tax on losses for which no tax benefit was received in consolidation and also clarified certain other aspects of the Tax Reform Bill originally enacted in December 2009. The December 2010 MTRs resulted in an additional reduction of $27 million to the tax liability previously recorded by the Company. After inflation and exchange rate changes, the Company’s tax liability as of September 30, 2011 related to the combined Tax Reform Bill and 2010 MTRs is $4 million payable from 2012 to 2018.

The Company’s US tax returns for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 are currently under audit by the US Internal Revenue Service and certain of the Company’s subsidiaries are under audit in jurisdictions outside of the US. In addition, certain statutes of limitations are scheduled to expire in the near future. It is reasonably possible that a further change in the unrecognized tax benefits may occur within the next twelve months related to the settlement of one or more of these audits or the lapse of applicable statutes of limitations; however, an estimated range of the impact on the unrecognized tax benefits cannot be quantified at this time.