Income taxes	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Income taxes
Income taxes	Note 7. Income taxes The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”) was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The Tax Act revised the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% in 2018, eliminating certain deductions, imposing a mandatory one-time transition tax, or deemed repatriation tax on accumulated earnings of foreign subsidiaries as of 2017 that were previously tax deferred. The Company generates income in higher tax rate foreign locations, which result in foreign tax credits. The lower federal corporate tax rate reduces the likelihood or our utilization of foreign tax credits created by income taxes paid in Puerto Rico and Latin America, resulting in a valuation allowance. For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, our income tax expense has been computed utilizing the estimated annual effective rates of 32.7% and 47.7%, respectively. The difference between the annual effective rate of 32.7% and the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% in the three month period ended March 31, 2019, is primarily due to the impact of the Tax Act and the related impact to the valuation allowance on foreign tax credits. The annual effective tax rate related to income generated in the U.S. is 23.1%. Due to the reduced U.S. tax rate, the Company determined that a portion of its foreign income, which is taxed at a higher rate, will result in the generation of excess foreign tax credits that will not be available to offset U.S. income tax. As a result, 9.6% of the annual effective rate relates to the required valuation allowance against the excess foreign tax credits, bringing the annual effective tax rate for the three month period ended March 31, 2019 to 32.7%. The difference between the annual effective rate of 47.7 % and the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% in the three month period ended March 31, 2018, is primarily due to the impact of the Tax Act and the related impact to the valuation allowance on foreign tax credits. Income tax expense was $2.6 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2019 as compared to an income tax benefit of $0.3 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2018.

Note 7. Income taxes

The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”) was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The Tax Act revised the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% in 2018, eliminating certain deductions, imposing a mandatory one-time transition tax, or deemed repatriation tax on accumulated earnings of foreign subsidiaries as of 2017 that were previously tax deferred. The Company generates income in higher tax rate foreign locations, which result in foreign tax credits. The lower federal corporate tax rate reduces the likelihood or our utilization of foreign tax credits created by income taxes paid in Puerto Rico and Latin America, resulting in a valuation allowance.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, our income tax expense has been computed utilizing the estimated annual effective rates of 32.7% and 47.7%, respectively. The difference between the annual effective rate of 32.7% and the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% in the three month period ended March 31, 2019, is primarily due to the impact of the Tax Act and the related impact to the valuation allowance on foreign tax credits. The annual effective tax rate related to income generated in the U.S. is 23.1%. Due to the reduced U.S. tax rate, the Company determined that a portion of its foreign income, which is taxed at a higher rate, will result in the generation of excess foreign tax credits that will not be available to offset U.S. income tax. As a result, 9.6% of the annual effective rate relates to the required valuation allowance against the excess foreign tax credits, bringing the annual effective tax rate for the three month period ended March 31, 2019 to 32.7%. The difference between the annual effective rate of 47.7 % and the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% in the three month period ended March 31, 2018, is primarily due to the impact of the Tax Act and the related impact to the valuation allowance on foreign tax credits.

Income tax expense was $2.6 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2019 as compared to an income tax benefit of $0.3 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2018.