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Income Taxes
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes

The Company's provision for income taxes is based upon an estimated annual tax rate for the year applied to federal, state and foreign income. On a quarterly basis, the annual effective tax rate is adjusted, as appropriate, based upon changed facts and circumstances, if any, as compared to those forecasted at the beginning of the fiscal year and each interim period thereafter.

At June 30, 2012, the Company estimated its U.S. GAAP effective tax rate to be approximately 29% for the year ending December 31, 2012. This rate includes a tax benefit of $5.5 million associated with the $37.9 million loss from disposal activities recorded in the second quarter of 2012 and an expense of $9.0 million associated with the Company's decision to change its cash repatriation assertion for some of its foreign subsidiaries. Primarily as a result of the change in the Company's cash repatriation assumptions, the Company also increased its estimated annual effective tax rate for on-going business operations from 26% to 27%.

The Company is not required to provide U.S. federal or state income taxes on cumulative undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries when such earnings are considered permanently reinvested. At December 31, 2011, the Company considered most of its foreign unremitted earnings to be permanently reinvested. The Company's policy is to evaluate this assertion on a quarterly basis. During the second quarter of 2012, the Company changed the assertion for some of its foreign subsidiaries to provide management additional financial flexibility.

At June 30, 2011, the Company estimated its U.S. GAAP effective tax rate to be approximately 24% for the year ending December 31, 2011. This rate included $11.0 million of additional tax expense associated with the Company's patent infringement settlement and a tax benefit of $6.2 million resulting from other tax adjustments. These other tax adjustments related to a change in state corporate income tax legislation as well as an adjustment of the Company's tax accounts as a result of the closure of certain tax audits.

The annual effective tax rates differ from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to foreign rates which differ from those in the U.S., the realization of certain business tax credits, including foreign tax credits, and favorable permanent differences between book and tax treatment for certain items, including equity in affiliates' earnings. The estimated annual effective tax rate for 2012 is higher than the annual effective tax rate for 2011 primarily due to the Company's projected increased profitability in higher taxed jurisdictions and the items discussed above.