Income Taxes

The following table presents the effective tax rate on pretax income from continuing operations for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014:



	Six Months Ended June 30
	2015		2014
Effective tax rate	24.3	%	23.9	%

The effective tax rate for each period presented is lower than the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to earnings in foreign jurisdictions which are taxed at rates lower than the U.S. statutory rate, the U.S. tax benefit on foreign dividends paid and the impact of certain U.S. tax incentives.

The Company files federal, state and local income tax returns in numerous domestic and foreign jurisdictions. In most tax jurisdictions, returns are subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities for a number of years after the returns have been filed. The Company is no longer subject to examinations by tax authorities in any major tax jurisdiction for years before 2006. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has completed its examination of the Company’s U.S. federal income tax returns filed for years through 2011. The IRS is currently conducting its examination of the Company's U.S. federal income tax return for 2012 and 2013.