Income Taxes

In 2017, the newly enacted tax legislation revised the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. The change in tax rates was the primary reason for the difference in the Company’s effective tax rate as compared with the prior year periods.

The effective income tax rate differed from the expected rate for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 as shown below:




	Three Months Ended June 30,
	2018			%		2017			%
Expected income taxes	$	47,641		21.0		$	70,674		35.0
Increase (reduction) in income taxes resulting from:
Low income housing investments	(3,324		)	(1.5	)	(4,649		)	(2.3	)
Share-based awards	(2,055		)	(0.9	)	(4,018		)	(2.0	)
Other	209			0.1		(444		)	(0.2	)
Income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations	$	42,471		18.7		$	61,563		30.5



	Six Months Ended June 30,
	2018			%		2017			%
Expected income taxes	$	92,338		21.0		$	137,783		35.0
Increase (reduction) in income taxes resulting from:
Low income housing investments	(6,649		)	(1.5	)	(9,298		)	(2.4	)
Share-based awards	(4,254		)	(1.0	)	(9,439		)	(2.4	)
Other	167			—		(2,920		)	(0.7	)
Income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations	$	81,602		18.5		$	116,126		29.5

As of December 31, 2017, the Company recorded $877 million of tax benefits in net income as a result of remeasuring its deferred tax assets and liabilities using the lower corporate tax rate as of the legislation’s enactment date. The Company was able to determine that the adjustment recorded in 2017 was a reasonable estimate of the impact of the tax legislation in accordance with SAB 118. The guidance allows companies up to one year to finalize the impact. The Company did not make any adjustments to this estimate for the period ended June 30, 2018. However, the Company will continue to analyze relevant information to complete the accounting for income taxes and expects to complete the process in the fourth quarter of 2018.