Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Note 8 – Income Taxes 

The effective tax rates for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2012were 24.1% and 28.4%, respectively.  The effective tax rates for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2011 were 33.4% and 29.9%, respectively. The variance of the comparable year-over-year periods is primarily attributable to increased profitability in certain foreign jurisdictions with lower income tax rates.Our effective tax rate decreased in the third quarter of 2012, primarily reflecting the tax benefit of a reduction in the U.K. statutory tax rate. 

We believe our recorded assets and liabilities are reasonable; however, tax laws and regulations are subject to interpretation and tax litigation is inherently uncertain, and therefore our assessments can involve a series of complex judgments about future events and rely heavily on estimates and assumptions. Income taxes have been provided based on the U.S. statutory rate of 35% and at the local statutory rate for each foreign jurisdiction adjusted for items which are allowed as deductions for federal and foreign income tax reporting purposes, but not for book purposes.  The primary differences between the statutory rate and our effective rate were as follows: 

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2012		2011		2012		2011
Statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
Foreign provision	(3.8)		0.7		(5.3)		(3.7)
Change in U.K. tax rate	(7.6)		(1.9)		(0.9)		(0.8)
Other	0.5		(0.4)		(0.4)		(0.6)
Effective rate	24.1	%	33.4	%	28.4	%	29.9	%