Income Tax Expense

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Income Tax Expense [Abstract]

Income Tax Expense

NOTE 10.INCOME TAX EXPENSE

The effective tax rate for the first quarter 2012 was 41.7% which was lower than the 64.1% effective tax rate in the comparable period in 2011, primarily due to the favorable tax impact from our mix of income from international operations.Additionally, the effective tax rate was higher in the first quarter of 2011 since we increased state valuation allowances based on our projected ability to utilize the deferred tax assets to offset future taxable income.

We do not expect to record any material changes during 2012 to unrecognized tax benefits that were claimed on tax returns covering tax years ending on or before December 31, 2011.