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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
Our tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of our annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items arising in that quarter. In each quarter we update our estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if our estimated annual tax rate changes, we make a cumulative adjustment in that quarter. Our quarterly tax provision, and our quarterly estimate of our annual effective tax rate, are subject to significant volatility due to several factors, including our ability to accurately predict our income (loss) before provision for income taxes in multiple jurisdictions, including the portions of our share-based compensation that will not generate tax benefits, and the effects of acquisitions and the integration of those acquisitions. In addition, our effective tax rate can be more or less volatile based on the amount of income before provision for income taxes.
Our effective tax rate has exceeded the U.S. statutory rate primarily because of the effect of non-deductible share-based compensation and the impact of acquiring intellectual property and integrating it into our business. Our effective tax rate in the future will depend on the portion of our profits earned within and outside the United States, which will also be affected by our methodologies for valuing our intellectual property and intercompany transactions.
We are subject to taxation in the United States and various other state and foreign jurisdictions. The material jurisdictions in which we are subject to potential examination include the United States and Ireland. We are under examination by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for our 2008, 2009 and 2010 tax years. We believe that adequate amounts have been reserved for any adjustments that may ultimately result from these examinations, and we do not anticipate a significant impact to our gross unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months related to these years. Our 2011 and subsequent tax years remain subject to examination by the IRS and all tax years starting in 2008 remain subject to examination in Ireland. We remain subject to possible examinations or are undergoing audits in various other jurisdictions that are not anticipated to be material to our financial statements.
Although the timing of the resolution, settlement, and closure of any audit is highly uncertain, it is reasonably possible that the balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits could significantly change in the next 12 months. However, given the number of years remaining that are subject to examination, we are unable to estimate the full range of possible adjustments to the balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits.