Income Taxes



	Three Months Ended March 31
	2017		2016
Effective tax rate on pre-tax income from continuing operations	24.3	%	24.6	%

The effective tax rate for 2017 and 2016 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 and the impact of certain U.S. tax incentives.

The effective tax rate for the three months ending March 31, 2017 includes a benefit of $8 million from the settlement of U.S. non-qualified pension plan obligations, as described in Note 10, "Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits".

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.