Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

7. Income Taxes

During the first half of 2011, income tax expense was $21.6 million, or 33.5% of pre-tax income. In the first six months of 2010, we recorded income tax expense of $22.5 million, or 76.9% of pre-tax income. The reduction in the effective tax rate primarily resulted from a decrease in losses in jurisdictions with full valuation allowances, which resulted in unrecognized tax benefits of $9.0 million in the prior-year period as compared to $3.0 million in the first six months of 2011. In addition, the effective tax rate in the prior-year period was impacted by $3.3 million of tax charges, which resulted from the elimination of future tax deductions related to Medicare Part D subsidies and the recording of valuation allowances on certain deferred tax assets.