Income Taxes

The provision (benefit) for income taxes was as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2016			2015			2016			2015
Income tax provision (benefit)	$	16,575		$	(1,896	)	$	85,555		$	29,182
Effective tax rate	22.0		%	(2.7		)%	44.9		%	14.5		%

The effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2016 is lower than the US Federal tax rate of 35 percent because of the mix of lower foreign jurisdiction tax rates, the effect of federal, foreign and state tax credits and discrete adjustments. During the first quarter of 2016, the Company recorded discrete tax expenses of $40.0 million primarily related to the European Commission’s decision regarding certain tax legislation in Belgium impacting one of the Company’s international subsidiaries. The Belgian Government announced that they have appealed this decision and filed an action for annulment with the General Court of the European Union. In July 2016, the Company filed a separate appeal with the General Court of the European Union. The outcome of an appeal, new information received from the Belgian Government, or other future events may cause the income tax provision associated with the decision to be entirely or partially reversed.

As of September 30, 2016, the Company had approximately $53.4 million of unrecognized tax benefits, all of which would affect the Company’s effective tax rate if recognized. The Company anticipates an immaterial portion of its net unrecognized tax benefits will be recognized within 12 months as the result of settlements or effective settlements with various tax authorities, the closure of certain audits and the lapse of the applicable statute of limitations.

The Company classifies interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as income tax expense. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had approximately $2.2 million of net accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions.


Note 16.	Income Taxes - (Continued)

The Company currently has the following tax years open to examination by major taxing jurisdictions:



	Tax Years:
US Federal	2013 – 2015
State of Oregon	2012 – 2014
State of Massachusetts	2011 – 2014
State of California	2012 – 2014
Sweden	2011 – 2014
United Kingdom	2011 – 2014
Belgium	2011 - 2014