Income Taxes

The following table presents the components of income tax expense for continuing operations, discontinued operations, noncontrolling interests and the Company:



	Three months ended March 31,
	2017			2016
	(In thousands)
Income from continuing operations:
Income before income taxes	$	21,549		$	24,325
Income tax expense	6,553			7,438
Net income from continuing operations	$	14,996		$	16,887
Effective tax rate, continuing operations	30.4		%	30.6		%

Income from discontinued operations:
Income before income taxes	$	2,788		$	3,530
Income tax expense	1,156			1,465
Net income from discontinued operations	$	1,632		$	2,065
Effective tax rate, discontinued operations	41.5		%	41.5		%

Less: Income attributable to noncontrolling interests:
Income before income taxes	$	966		$	911
Income tax expense	—			—
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	$	966		$	911
Effective tax rate, noncontrolling interests	—		%	—		%

Income attributable to the Company
Income before income taxes	$	23,371		$	26,944
Income tax expense	7,709			8,903
Net income attributable to the Company	$	15,662		$	18,041
Effective tax rate attributable to the Company	33.0		%	33.0		%

The effective tax rate for continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 of 30.4%, with related tax expense of $6.6 million, was calculated based on a projected 2017 annual effective tax rate. The effective tax rate was less than the statutory rate of 35% due primarily to earnings from tax-exempt investments, income tax credits, and income attributable to noncontrolling interests. These items were partially offset by state and local income taxes.

The effective tax rate for continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2016 of 30.6%, with related tax expense of $7.4 million, was calculated based on a projected 2016 annual effective tax rate. The effective tax rate was less than the statutory rate of 35% due primarily to earnings from tax-exempt investments, income tax credits, and income attributable to noncontrolling interests. These items were partially offset by state and local income taxes.

The effective tax rate for continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 is lower than the effective tax rate for the same period in 2016 due primarily to a projected increase in earnings from tax-exempt investments and loans in 2017 as compared to 2016.

In the first quarter of 2017, the Company adopted ASU 2016-09. The impact of ASU 2016-09 for the three months ended March 31, 2017 was an increase in income tax expense of $0.2 million due primarily to employee stock options expiring unexercised due to being out of the money. There was no significant change to the Company’s effective tax rate related to the adoption of this ASU.