INCOME TAXES

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

INCOME TAXES

6. INCOME TAXES

The calculation for the income tax provision or benefit generally does not consider the tax effects of changes in other comprehensive income, or OCI, which is a component of shareholders’ equity on the balance sheet.  However, an exception is provided in certain circumstances, such as when there is a full valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets, there is a loss from continuing operations and income in other components of the financial statements.  In such a case, pre-tax income from other categories, such as changes in OCI, must be considered in determining a tax benefit to be allocated to the loss from continuing operations.  For the six month period ended June 30, 2011, this resulted in $1.5 million of income tax benefit allocated to continuing operations.

A valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets is required when it is considered more likely than not that all or part of the benefit related to such assets will not be realized.  In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we considered various factors including our three year cumulative loss position and the fact that we did not meet our forecast levels in 2010 and 2011.  These factors represent the most significant negative evidence that we considered in concluding that a valuation allowance was necessary at June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.