Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Note 8 — Income Taxes 

The effective tax rates for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012were 24.9% and 6.7%, respectively.  The variance is primarily attributable to projected year over year increases in profitability in the United States. 

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 from continuing operations are as follows: 

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
Statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%
Foreign provision	(10.7)		(26.5)
Other	0.6		(1.8)
Effective rate	24.9	%	6.7	%