XML 34 R23.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.1
Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
The effective tax rate was 25.3 percent and 18.8 percent for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase primarily reflected the prior period impact of discrete tax benefits in relation to lower pretax income. The current period effective tax rate also reflects the implementation of PAM in the current period. Refer to Note 1 for further information.
We are under continuous examination by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and tax authorities in other countries and states in which we have significant business operations. The tax years under examination and open for examination vary by jurisdiction. We are currently under examination by the IRS for the 2017 and 2018 tax years.
We believe it is reasonably possible that our unrecognized tax benefits could decrease within the next 12 months by as much as $133 million, principally as a result of potential resolutions of prior years’ tax items with various taxing authorities. The prior years’ tax items include unrecognized tax benefits relating to the deductibility of certain expenses or losses and the attribution of taxable income to a particular jurisdiction or jurisdictions. Of the $133 million of unrecognized tax benefits, approximately $105 million relates to amounts that, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate in a future period.