Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

INCOME TAXES

Our effective tax rate was 27.5 percent for the 2022 third quarter compared to 21.1 percent for the 2021 third quarter. The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily due to the current year tax expense from the completion of prior years’ tax audits.

Our effective tax rate was 24.2 percent for the 2022 first three quarters compared to 0.2 percent for the 2021 first three quarters. The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily due to the prior year tax benefit from the release of tax reserves due to the favorable resolution of Legacy-Starwood tax audits, as well as the current year tax expense from the completion of prior years’ tax audits.

We paid cash for income taxes, net of refunds, of $341 million in the 2022 first three quarters and $293 million in the 2021 first three quarters.