Income Tax Expense

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Income Tax Expense [Abstract]

Income Tax Expense

NOTE 12. INCOME TAX EXPENSE

	Three Months Ended September 30,		Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011	2010	2011	2010
Earnings before income taxes	$  83.1	$ 45.1	$ 181.9	$ 104.7
Income tax expense	30.6	20.5	78.0	72.7
Effective tax rate	36.8%	45.5%	42.9%	69.4%

The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2011 was lower than the comparable period of 2010, primarily due to the reduction in 2011 of unbenefited foreign losses. Additionally, in the third quarter of 2010, there was a partial release of state valuation allowances based on our projected ability to utilize the deferred tax assets to offset future taxable income.

The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2011 was lower than the first nine months of 2010 due to the enactment of the federal healthcare reform legislation in March 2010.

We do not expect to record any material changes during 2011 to unrecognized tax benefits that were claimed on tax returns covering tax years ending on or before December 31, 2010.