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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
For interim income tax reporting, we are required to estimate our annual effective tax rate and apply it to year-to-date pre-tax income/loss excluding unusual or infrequently occurring discrete items. Tax jurisdictions with losses for which tax benefits cannot be realized are excluded.
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, we recorded income tax expense of $3.6 million and $3.9 million, respectively. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, we recorded income tax expense of $3.4 million and $1.8 million, respectively. The change in the income tax expense for the three months ended September 30, 2015 compared to the same period last year is primarily related to lower foreign income tax expense compared to last year, offset by a $3.7 million valuation allowance established during the current quarter as a result of the announced Restructuring Plan, which has changed our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income in certain foreign jurisdictions to recover our net deferred tax assets in such locations. The effective income tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 35 percent primarily due to a valuation allowance on various deferred tax assets and the effects of foreign tax rate differential. As disclosed previously, as of September 30, 2015 the Company had not yet determined that it will be restructuring its European operations, pending the outcome of negotiations with European works councils and, accordingly, we have not provided valuation allowances associated with tax jurisdictions within Europe. However, it is reasonably possible that valuation allowances may be necessary in future periods if we reach agreement to restructure our European operations. The total net deferred tax assets as of September 30, 2015 associated with European jurisdictions is approximately $6.0 million.
We conduct business globally. As a result, we file income tax returns in multiple jurisdictions and are subject to review by various U.S and foreign taxing authorities. Our U.S. federal income tax returns for 2011 through 2013 are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to examination by foreign tax jurisdictions or state and local tax jurisdictions for years before 2008. In the event that we have determined not to file tax returns with a particular state or city, all years remain subject to examination by the tax jurisdiction.
We accrue for the effects of uncertain tax positions and the related potential penalties and interest. Our liability related to uncertain tax positions, which is presented in other liabilities on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and which includes interest and penalties and excludes certain unrecognized tax benefits that have been netted against deferred tax assets, was $1.6 million and $1.9 million as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. It is reasonably possible that the amount of the unrecognized tax benefit with respect to certain of our unrecognized tax positions will increase or decrease during the next twelve months; however it is not possible to reasonably estimate the effect at this time.