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INCOME TAXES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES
INCOME TAXES
The provision for income taxes represents federal, foreign, state and local income taxes. The effective tax rate differs from the applicable federal statutory rate due to the effect of state and local income taxes, tax rates and income in foreign jurisdictions, utilization of tax loss carryforwards, foreign earnings taxable in the U.S., non-deductible expenses and other items. The Company’s tax provision changes quarterly based on various factors including, but not limited to, the geographical mix of earnings, enacted tax legislation, foreign, state and local income taxes, tax audit settlements and the interaction of various global tax strategies. In addition, changes in judgment from the evaluation of new information resulting in the recognition, derecognition and/or re-measurement of a tax position taken in a prior period are recognized in the quarter in which any such change occurs.
For the first quarter of 2015 and 2014, the Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $8.7 million and $7.0 million, respectively. The $1.7 million increase in the provision for income taxes was primarily attributable to certain discrete items that favorably affected the provision for income taxes in the first quarter of 2014, which did not recur in the first quarter of 2015, partially offset by lower pretax income in the first quarter of 2015.
The Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2015 was higher than the federal statutory rate of 35% due principally to foreign and U.S. tax effects attributable to operations outside the U.S., primarily the timing of pre-tax losses in a number of jurisdictions outside of the U.S. for which there was no tax benefit recognized in the first quarter of 2015.
The Company remains subject to examination of its income tax returns in various jurisdictions including, without limitation, Australia, Canada and Spain, for tax years ended December 31, 2010 through December 31, 2013 and the U.S. (federal) and South Africa for tax years ended December 31, 2011 through December 31, 2013.