7. Income Taxes

The following table presents components of income tax expense/(benefit) for the three month period ended March 31, 2013 and 2012:

	Three months ended March 31,
(in thousands)	2013	2012

Income tax based on income from continuing operations, at estimated tax rates of 34.0% and (6.5%), respectively	$6,038	$ 60
Pension plan settlement	-	(3,299	)

Income tax before discrete items	6,038	(3,239	)

Discrete tax expense/(benefit):
Provision for/resolution of tax audits and contingencies, net	-	(6,733	)
Adjustments to prior period tax liabilities	210	-
Total income tax expense/(benefit)	$6,248	$(9,972	)

The first quarter estimated effective tax rate on continuing operations was 34.0 percent in 2013, as compared to (6.5) percent for the same period in 2012. The change in the estimated effective tax rate was primarily attributable to the amount and distribution of income and loss among the countries in which we operate. The 2012 first quarter tax rate was also impacted by operating losses generated in tax jurisdictions where no tax benefit was recognized.

The Company records the residual U.S. and foreign taxes on certain amounts of current foreign earnings that have been targeted for repatriation to the U.S. As a result, such amounts are not considered to be permanently reinvested, and the Company accrued for the residual taxes on these earnings to the extent they cannot be repatriated in a tax-free manner. At March 31, 2013 the Company reported a deferred tax liability of $1.5 million on $19.4 million of non-U.S. earnings that have been targeted for future repatriation to the U.S.

We conduct business globally and, as a result, the Company or one or more of our subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions. In the normal course of business we are subject to examination by taxing authorities throughout the world, including major jurisdictions as the United States, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Switzerland. Open tax years in these jurisdictions range from 2000 to 2012. We are currently under audit in the U.S. and non-U.S. tax jurisdictions, including but not limited to Canada, Germany, and France.

It is reasonably possible that over the next twelve months the amount of unrecognized tax benefits may change within a range of a net increase of $0 million to a net decrease of $0.8 million, from the reevaluation of uncertain tax positions arising in examinations, in appeals, or in the courts, or from the closure of tax statutes. Not included in the range is $22.3 million of tax benefits in Germany related to a 1999 reorganization that have been challenged by the German tax authorities in the course of an audit, of which $11.4 million would have a direct impact on our statement of income if resolved unfavorably. In 2008 the German Federal Tax Court (FTC) denied tax benefits to other taxpayers in a case involving German tax laws relevant to our reorganization. One of these cases involved a non-German party, and in the ruling in that case, the FTC acknowledged that the German law in question may be violative of European Union (EU) principles and referred the issue to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for its determination on this issue. In September 2009, the ECJ issued an opinion in this case that is generally favorable to the other taxpayer and referred the case back to the FTC for further consideration. In May 2010 the FTC released its decision, in which it resolved certain tax issues that may be relevant to our audit and remanded the case to a lower court for further development. In 2012, the lower court decided in favor of the taxpayer and the government appealed the findings to the FTC. Although we were required to pay tax and interest of approximately $12.8 million to the German tax authorities in order to continue to pursue the position; when taking into consideration the ECJ decision, the latest FTC decision and the lower court decision, we believe that it is more likely than not that the relevant German law is violative of EU principles and accordingly we have not accrued tax expense on this matter. As we continue to monitor developments, it may become necessary for us to accrue tax expense and related interest.