Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Note 3:  Income Taxes

The tax provision for interim periods is determined using the estimated annual effective tax rate, based on the current estimate of full-year earnings before taxes, adjusted for the impact of discrete quarterly items. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, our effective tax rate was 22.5% and 23.7%, respectively, compared with 24.6% for both periods in 2010. Discrete tax items did not have a significant impact on our effective tax rate for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2011. In the second quarter of 2010, we recognized a $0.5 million discrete tax charge.

It is reasonably possible that, due to the expiration of statutes and the closing of audits during the next twelve months, the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits may be reduced further by approximately $0.8 million, resulting in a favorable impact on the effective tax rate. During each of the six month periods ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, we recognized $0.1 million in tax-related interest expense. The balance of accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions was $0.5 million and $0.4 million at June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively.

Because we are a global organization, we and our subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. Federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions. We are subject to examination in the U.S. Federal tax jurisdiction for tax years 2007 through 2010. We are also open for examination in various state and foreign jurisdictions for tax years 2005 through 2010.