Note 9 - Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

9.      Income Taxes:

For the three months ended September 30, 2013, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $1.1 million, or 46.1% of income before income taxes, compared to $916 thousand, or 35.9% of income before income taxes, for the three months ended September 30, 2012. The higher effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2013 is primarily a result of the impact of greater non-deductible expenses on the pre-tax income and the increase in the annual effective rate from the first six months of 2013.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $5.7 million, or 38.6% of income before income taxes, compared to $7.9 million, or 39.0% of income before income taxes, for the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

The Company’s tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of the annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items that are taken into account in the relevant period. Each quarter the estimate of the annual effective tax rate is updated, and if the estimated tax rate changes, a cumulative adjustment is made.

The quarterly tax provision and the quarterly estimate of the annual effective tax rate is subject to significant volatility due to several factors, including variability in accurately predicting the pre-tax and taxable income and loss and the mix of jurisdictions to which they relate, changes in law and relative changes of expenses or losses for which tax benefits are not recognized. Additionally, the effective tax rate can be more or less volatile based on the amount of pre-tax income. For example, the impact of discrete items and non-deductible expenses on the effective tax rate is greater when our pre-tax income is lower.