Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Note 8 – Income Taxes

         The effective tax rates for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2011 were 33.4% and 29.9%, respectively.  The effective tax rates for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2010 reflected a provision of 40.0% and a benefit of 35.8%, respectively.  The variance of the comparable year-over-year periods primarily reflect the increased benefit derived from the effect of lower tax rates in certain foreign jurisdictions.   Our effective tax rate increased in the third quarter of 2011, primarily reflecting increased profitability in our U.S. operations and certain losses associated with our Australian operations that are nondeductible for income tax purposes.   

     We believe our recorded assets and liabilities are reasonable. However, because tax laws and regulations are subject to interpretation and tax litigation is inherently uncertain, our assessments can involve a series of complex judgments about future events and rely heavily on estimates and assumptions.