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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
Our effective income tax rates from continuing operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 were 4.9 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. Our effective income tax rates from continuing operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were 12.4 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively. Our effective income tax rates from continuing operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 were impacted by a $17.7 million tax reserve release related to our domestic operations.
During the third quarter of 2021, we changed our indefinite reinvestment assertion in connection with plans to repatriate cash in 2021 and subsequent years, contingent upon earnings from certain foreign subsidiaries, and recorded tax of $2.4 million. Additional income taxes have not been provided for certain other remaining outside basis differences inherent in our investments in foreign subsidiaries because the investments and related unremitted earnings are essentially permanent in duration. Determining the amount of unrecognized deferred tax liability related to indefinitely reinvested earnings of our foreign subsidiaries is not practicable due to complexity of the multi-jurisdictional tax environment in which we operate.
We determine our interim tax provision using an Estimated Annual Effective Tax Rate methodology ("EAETR") in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The EAETR is applied to the year-to-date ordinary income, exclusive of discrete items. The tax effects of discrete items are then included to arrive at the total reported interim tax provision. The determination of the EAETR is based upon a number of estimates, including the estimated annual pretax ordinary income in each tax jurisdiction in which we operate. As our projections of ordinary income change throughout the year, the EAETR will change period-to-period. A significant amount of our earnings is generated by our foreign subsidiaries (e.g., Singapore, Hong Kong, and Switzerland), which tax earnings at lower statutory rates than the United States federal statutory rate. Our future effective tax rates may be materially impacted by a future change in the composition of earnings from foreign and domestic tax jurisdictions. The tax effects of discrete items are recognized in the tax provision in the period they occur in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Depending on various factors, such as the item’s significance in relation to total income and the rate of tax applicable in the jurisdiction to which it relates, discrete items in any quarter can materially impact the reported effective tax rate. As a global enterprise, our tax expense can be impacted by changes in tax rates or laws, the finalization of tax audits and reviews, as well as other factors. As a result, there can be significant volatility in interim tax provisions.