Taxes on Income (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income before taxes domestic and foreign operations

Income before taxes on income resulted from domestic and foreign operations as follows:

(in millions)	Years ended December 31,
	2012		2011		2010
Domestic operations	$	841	$	700	$	699
Foreign operations	289		300		244
Total continuing income before taxes	$	1,130	$	1,000	$	943

Provision/(benefit) for taxes on income

The provision/(benefit) for taxes on income consists of the following:

(in millions)	Years ended December 31,
	2012			2011			2010
Federal:
Current	$	194		$	238		$	159
Deferred	74			(6		)	37
Total federal	268			232			196
Foreign:
Current	91			93			109
Deferred	(9		)	13			(14		)
Total foreign	82			106			95
State and local:
Current	40			36			49
Deferred	14			—			4
Total state and local	54			36			53
Total provision for taxes for continuing operations	404			374			344
Provision for discontinued operations	11			164			143
Total provision for taxes	$	415		$	538		$	487

Reconciliation of federal statutory income tax rate

A reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate to our effective income tax rate for financial reporting purposes is as follows:

	Years ended December 31,
	2012		2011		2010
U.S. federal statutory income tax rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State and local income taxes	3.6		2.4		4.6
Foreign operations	(2.6	)	(3.0	)	(1.6	)
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC joint venture	(1.1	)	—		—
Other, net	0.9		3.0		(1.6	)
Effective income tax rate for continuing operations	35.8	%	37.4	%	36.4	%

Differences between the accounting for income and expenses for financial reporting and income tax

The principal temporary differences between the accounting for income and expenses for financial reporting and income tax purposes are as follows:

(in millions)	December 31,
	2012			2011
Deferred tax assets:
Postretirement benefits	$	201		$	202
Employee compensation	123			128
Accrued expenses	105			99
Unearned revenue	60			58
Allowance for doubtful accounts	17			10
Loss carryforwards	25			8
Total deferred tax assets	531			505
Deferred tax liabilities:
Goodwill and intangible assets 1	(379		)	(131		)
Fixed assets	(54		)	(58		)
Other	(1		)	(7		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(434		)	(196		)
Net deferred income tax asset before valuation allowance	97			309
Valuation allowance	(7		)	(7		)
Net deferred income tax asset	$	90		$	302
Reported as:
Current deferred tax assets	$	117		$	110
Current deferred tax liabilities	(7		)	(2		)
Non-current deferred tax assets	36			207
Non-current deferred tax liabilities	(56		)	(13		)
Net deferred income tax asset	$	90		$	302

Reconciliation of beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

(in millions)	Years ended December 31,
	2012			2011			2010
Balance at beginning of year	$	58		$	53		$	37
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	14			12			14
Additions for tax positions of prior years	3			3			10
Reduction for tax positions of prior years	(1		)	(10		)	(8		)
Balance at end of year	$	74		$	58		$	53