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Income Taxes
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit was $51.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to an income tax provision of $29.1 million for the same period in 2019. The effective tax rate was 24.5% in the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to 25.3% for the same period in 2019. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 was primarily due to the impact of the remeasurement of the deferred tax liability related to the Erwinaze intangible asset following the reduction in the estimated remaining useful life in February 2019 following receipt of a contract termination notice from PBL, partially offset by the impact of the defibrotide acquired IPR&D asset impairment charge and the impact of the acquired IPR&D expense related to the PharmaMar transaction. The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was higher than the Irish statutory rate of 12.5% primarily due to income taxable at a higher rate than the Irish statutory rate and unrecognized tax benefits, partially offset by originating tax credits. We do not provide for Irish income taxes on undistributed earnings of our foreign operations that are intended to be indefinitely reinvested in our foreign subsidiaries.
On April 7, 2020 U.S. Treasury released final regulations implementing the hybrid mismatch rules under Internal Revenue Code Sections 245A(e) and 267A.  Our financial statements are based on guidance that existed as of the reporting date and therefore do not include the tax implications of these final regulations. We will include any change in tax related to the regulations in the period in which they were enacted but estimate that they will not have a material impact on us.
Our net deferred tax asset is comprised primarily of U.S. federal and state tax credits, U.S. federal and state and foreign net operating loss carryforwards and other temporary differences, and is net of deferred tax liabilities related to acquired intangible assets. We maintain a valuation allowance against certain foreign and U.S. deferred tax assets. Each reporting period, we evaluate the need for a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets by jurisdiction and adjust our estimates as more information becomes available.
We are required to recognize the financial statement effects of a tax position when it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits, that the position will be sustained upon examination. As a result, we have recorded an unrecognized tax benefit for certain tax benefits which we judge may not be sustained upon examination. Our most significant tax jurisdictions are Ireland and the U.S. (both at the federal level and in various state jurisdictions). For Ireland we are no longer subject to income tax audits by taxing authorities for the years prior to 2015. The U.S. jurisdictions generally have statute of limitations three to four years from the later of the return due date or the date when the return was filed. However, in the U.S. (at the federal level and in most states), carryforward tax attributes that were generated in 2015 and earlier may still be adjusted upon examination by the tax authorities. Certain of our subsidiaries are currently under examination by the French tax authorities for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. These examinations may lead to ordinary course adjustments or proposed adjustments to our taxes. In December 2015, we received proposed tax assessment notices, and, in October 2018 and December 2019, we received revised tax assessment notices from the French tax authorities for 2012 and 2013 and in December 2018 and September 2019, we received a proposed tax assessment notice for 2015, 2016 and 2017, relating to certain transfer pricing adjustments.  The notices propose additional French tax of approximately $41.0 million for 2012 and 2013 and approximately $11.7 million for 2015, 2016 and 2017 including interest and penalties through the respective dates of the proposed assessments, translated at the foreign exchange rate as of March 31, 2020. We disagree with the assessments and are contesting them vigorously. Certain of our Italian subsidiaries are currently under examination by the Italian tax authorities for the year ended December 31, 2017.