Subsidiary Merger Activities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Subsidiary Merger Activities [Abstract]

Subsidiary Merger Activities

14. Subsidiary Merger Activities

To improve the effectiveness of the Company's operations in Japan, the Company completed the merger of its Japan subsidiaries during the third quarter of 2010. For tax purposes in Japan, this transaction resulted in a step-up in the tax basis of certain assets and liabilities of the merged subsidiary to fair value as of the date of the merger and gave rise to a taxable gain in Japan, resulting in a liability of approximately $77.3 million which was paid during the fourth quarter of 2010. The unamortized portion of the corresponding prepaid tax, which is deductible over the succeeding five-year period in Japan for the stepped-up tax basis of the assets and liabilities, is included on the condensed consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.

For U.S. tax purposes, this taxable gain in Japan gives rise to a foreign tax credit that reduces the current U.S. tax on foreign income. The Company's U.S. tax payments were reduced by approximately $22.2 million in 2010 as a result of this credit. The Company recently filed an amended tax return in order to request a refund of approximately $26.3 million for a portion of this foreign tax credit which can be carried back to reduce the tax obligation of previous years. The remaining portion of this foreign tax credit (approximately $0.2 million) will be used to reduce the amount of taxes to be paid in the U.S. in 2011 or future periods. Recognition of this foreign tax credit resulted in a deferred tax credit that will be recognized as a reduction to the Company's U.S. taxes over the same five-year period that the prepaid tax in Japan is recognized.