Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

The effective tax rates for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,		March 31,
	2019		2018
Effective tax rate	20.0	%	24.5	%

Our effective income tax rate was 20.0% and 24.5% in the first quarters of 2019 and 2018, respectively. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared with the same period in 2018, was primarily attributed to tax benefits recorded upon vesting of restricted stock units. The first quarter 2019 tax rate was lower than the U.S. statutory federal tax rate primarily due to the aforementioned tax benefits recorded upon vesting of restricted stock units. The tax rate in the first quarter of 2018 was higher than the U.S. statutory federal tax rate primarily due to higher foreign tax rates applicable on foreign earnings.

We have elected to recognize the tax on the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) as a period expense in the period the tax is incurred, and we have included a provisional estimate for GILTI in our estimated annual effective tax rate.

Our continuing practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters as income tax expense. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, and 2018, we recorded interest and penalties of $0 and $14, respectively.