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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes

(11) Income Taxes

 

Our effective income tax rate was 19.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared with 22.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2018.  The decrease in the effective tax rate during the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared with the same period in 2018, was primarily due to a $9 million decrease in our provision for income taxes attributable to employee share-based payment accounting, which decreased our provision for income taxes by $11 million during the first quarter of 2019 as compared to $2 million during the first quarter of 2018.

 

The global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) provisions from the TCJA-17 require the inclusion of the earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries in excess of an acceptable rate of return on certain assets of the respective subsidiaries in our U.S. tax return for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017.  An accounting policy election was made during 2018 to treat taxes related to GILTI as a period cost when the tax is incurred. We recorded a GILTI tax provision of less than $1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

 

As of January 1, 2019, our unrecognized tax benefits were approximately $2 million. The amount, if recognized, that would favorably affect the effective tax rate is approximately $1 million. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, changes to the estimated liabilities for uncertain tax positions (including accrued interest) relating to tax positions taken during prior and current periods did not have a material impact on our financial statements.

 

We recognize accrued interest and penalties associated with uncertain tax positions as part of the tax provision. As of March 31, 2019, we have less than $1 million of accrued interest and penalties. The U.S. federal statute of limitations remains open for 2015 and subsequent years. Foreign and U.S. state and local jurisdictions have statutes of limitations generally ranging from 3 to 4 years. The statute of limitations on certain jurisdictions could expire within the next twelve months.  It is reasonably possible that the amount of uncertain tax benefits will change during the next 12 months, however, it is anticipated that any such change, if it were to occur, would not have a material impact on our results of operations.

 

We operate in multiple jurisdictions with varying tax laws. We are subject to audits by any of these taxing authorities. Our tax returns have been examined by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) through the year ended December 31, 2006. We believe that adequate accruals have been provided for federal, foreign and state taxes.