Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

4.

Income Taxes. For the three months ended March 31, 2012, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $670,000, or 29.8% of loss before taxes. The income tax provision during the three months ended March 31, 2012, is comprised of federal and state taxes. The primary differences between the Company's March 31, 2012 effective tax rate and the statutory federal rate are nondeductible meals and entertainment and expense related to equity compensation.

As a result of the taxable income generated by the settlement proceeds, $5,385,000 of the Company's deferred tax assets was utilized during the first three months of 2011. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, the provision for income taxes was $33,951,000, or 38.7% of income before taxes. The income tax provision during the three months ended March 31, 2011, was comprised of federal and state taxes. The primary difference between the Company's March 31, 2011 effective tax rate and the statutory federal rate is due to state income taxes.

As of March 31, 2012, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits totaling $424,000 excluding interest, which relates to state nexus issues. The amount of the unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, that would affect the effective income tax rates of future periods is $424,000. Due to the current statute of limitations regarding the unrecognized tax benefits, the unrecognized tax benefits and associated interest is not expected to change significantly in 2012.