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Income Taxes
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes

Note 6. Income Taxes:

At June 30, 2013, we had $23.6 million of unrecognized tax benefits recorded in Other liabilities and $4.7 million recorded in Other current liabilities. If these unrecognized tax benefits were recognized, the effective tax rate would be affected.

For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Company reduced its accrual for interest and penalties by $4.8 million, net, principally due to the reclassification to income taxes payable for Spain, as discussed below. At June 30, 2013, the Company had accrued interest and penalties of $2.6 million classified in Other liabilities and $0.1 million classified in Other current liabilities.

The Company regularly repatriates a portion of current year earnings from select non–U.S. subsidiaries. No provision is made for additional taxes on undistributed earnings of subsidiary companies that are intended and planned to be indefinitely invested in such subsidiaries. We intend to, and have plans to, reinvest these earnings indefinitely in our foreign subsidiaries to fund local operations and/or capital projects.

The Company has ongoing income tax audits and legal proceedings which are at various stages of administrative or judicial review, of which the most significant items are discussed below. In addition, the Company has other ongoing tax audits and legal proceedings that relate to indirect taxes, such as value-added taxes, capital tax, sales and use taxes and property taxes, which are discussed in Note 12.

During the third quarter of 2012 the Company and the Spanish tax authorities entered into an overall settlement with respect to assessments imposed in connection with audits for the 2004-2010 fiscal years. In connection with this settlement, the Company paid Euro 84.0 million ($105.5 million based on exchange rates at the respective payment dates) during 2012 and paid the remainder of Euro 1.5 million ($1.9 million based on the exchange rate at the payment date) in the first quarter of 2013. This settlement did not address either the 2002-2003 fiscal years or the 2011 fiscal year. In connection with the overall settlement, the Company recorded after-tax charges of $72.4 million during the third quarter 2012, which included $56.0 million related to the tax settlement of the 2004-2010 period and the increased liabilities for uncertain tax positions of $16.4 million for years not settled. During the fourth quarter of 2012 the Company and the Spanish tax authorities also finalized a multi-year agreement that established the tax basis for the Company’s activities in Spain for 2012 through 2014 consistent with the key principles preliminarily agreed upon as part of the overall settlement. The Company’s Spanish subsidiaries have not yet received an assessment with respect to the 2011 fiscal year.

As a result of the audits of 2002-2003 fiscal years, the Spanish tax authorities imposed assessments aggregating Euro 22.4 million ($28.6 million), including aggregate estimated interest. The Company had previously appealed these assessments with the Appellate Court. On February 7, 2013, the Appellate Court upheld the Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal’s (“TEAC”) ruling with respect to the 2003 tax assessment and the related tax avoidance claims. We decided not to pursue the appeal process. Accordingly, during the second quarter of 2013, we paid Euro 17.7 million ($23.3 million based on the exchange rate at the payment date) in connection with the 2003 tax assessment. As a result of this payment, the remaining aggregate assessment related to the 2002-2003 fiscal years was Euro 4.7 million ($6.1 million) as of June 30, 2013. To proceed with its appeals of the tax assessments for the 2002-2003 fiscal years, the Company was required to post bank guarantees. As of June 30, 2013, the Company had remaining posted bank guarantees of Euro 4.7 million ($6.1 million) associated with the 2002-2003 appeals. In light of the court’s ruling, we also recorded a charge of $9.3 million in the first quarter associated with issues in the 2002-2003 cases that were unrelated to the issues underlying the 2004-2010 settlement. This charge was partially offset by a $3.1 million adjustment to prior accruals for the 2003 case. As a result of our decision not to appeal, we have classified approximately $4.0 million of amounts to be paid as income taxes payable as of June 30, 2013. During the third quarter of 2013, we paid the remaining balance of Euro 3.1 million ($4.0 million based on the exchange rate at the respective payment date) related to the 2003 tax assessment. On June 17, 2013, the Appellate Court ruled against us on our appeal of the 2002 income tax assessment and related claims, which we have also decided not to appeal. There was no income tax impact associated with this decision.

In addition to the above, the Company has also been a party to four dividend withholding tax controversies in Spain in which the Spanish tax authorities alleged that the Company’s Spanish subsidiaries underpaid withholding taxes during the 1995-2001 fiscal years. The Company had previously appealed each of these controversies. During 2012, the Company received unfavorable decisions on the first three cases. As a result of these rulings, the Company (i) recorded charges (including estimated interest) of approximately $12 million after-tax during 2012, and (ii) made payments of Euro 9.8 million ($12.8 million based on exchange rate at the respective payment date) during 2012. At June 30, 2013, the Company had Euro 4.5 million ($5.8 million) reflected in income taxes payable in connection with these three cases. The fourth and final remaining appeal has not yet been heard by the Spanish Supreme Court. At June 30, 2013, the aggregate amount of the remaining dividend withholding controversy was Euro 3.2 million ($4.1 million), including estimated interest, which is fully reserved. As of June 30, 2013, the Company had posted bank guarantees of Euro 7.5 million ($9.8 million) in order to proceed with the appeal in this controversy.

As of June 30, 2013, the Company’s aggregate provisions for uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, was $31.0 million, which includes $7.0 million associated with the tax positions taken by our Spanish subsidiaries for the 2002 and the 2011 fiscal years, $3.7 million associated with our Spanish dividend withholding tax controversies and the remainder associated with various other tax positions asserted in foreign jurisdictions, none of which is individually material.

In addition, the Company has several other tax audits in process and has open tax years with various taxing jurisdictions that range primarily from 2007 to 2012. Based on currently available information, we do not believe the ultimate outcome of any of these tax audits and other tax positions related to open tax years, when finalized, will have a material impact on our financial position.

The effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2013 was 27.3% compared with 27.7% for the three months ended June 30, 2012. The quarter-over-quarter decline is primarily driven by the benefit received from the R&D tax credit of $0.9 million. In addition, the 2012 quarter included a $4.7 million provision related to the second Spanish dividend withholding tax case and other provision adjustments on uncertain tax positions. The effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2013 was 28.0% compared with 27.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2012. The 2013 first six months includes a $6.2 million after-tax charge associated with the 2002-2003 ruling as discussed above. The year-over-year increase includes a provision increase due to the mix of earnings which is partially offset by a $4.6 million benefit associated with U.S. tax legislation enacted in the first quarter of 2013 (including the R&D tax credit). The 2012 first six-month period includes a $10.6 million benefit due to a corporate restructuring of certain of our foreign subsidiaries that was offset by $12.9 million of provisions related to the Spanish dividend withholding tax cases and other reserve adjustments on uncertain tax positions.