Income Tax Expense

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Tax Expense

The effective tax rates for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were 15.0% and 11.0%, respectively. The effective tax rates for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were 14.7% and 12.8%, respectively. Income tax expense of $3.7 million in the third quarter of 2017increased by $1.6 million compared to $2.1 million in the same period in 2016, due to the result of several items discrete to each quarter, along with changes in activity levels in jurisdictions with differing tax rates.

On March 29, 2017, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ("UK") formally notified the European Council of the UK's intention to withdraw from the European Union ("EU") under Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon. The UK's formal withdrawal may impact tax exemptions and reliefs on intra-European transactions between our UK affiliates and EU companies. In addition, it may impact transactions between our UK affiliates and non-EU based companies as EU tax treaties may no longer apply to these transactions. Due to the uncertainty involved in evaluating the effect of the loss of tax exemptions and reliefs, we are unable to estimate the impact of these changes, if any, at this time. We will continue to monitor developments in this area.