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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Income Taxes [Abstract]  
Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]
8. INCOME TAXES

 We are required to adjust our effective tax rate each quarter to estimate our annual effective tax rate. We must also record the tax impact of certain discrete, unusual or infrequently occurring items, including changes in judgment about valuation allowances and effects of changes in tax laws or rates, in the interim period in which they occur. In addition, jurisdictions with a projected loss for the year or a year-to-date loss where no tax benefit can be recognized are excluded from the estimated annual effective tax rate. The impact of such an exclusion could result in a higher or lower effective tax rate during a particular quarter, based upon the mix and timing of actual earnings versus annual projections.

Income tax expense was $7.5 million in the three months ended September 30, 2014 as compared to $6.1 million in the three months ended September 30, 2013.  Our effective income tax rate was 14.6% in the third quarter of 2014 as compared to 16.1% in the third quarter of 2013.  

Income tax expense was $25.8 million in the first nine months of 2014 as compared to $9.1 million in the first nine months of 2013.  Our effective income tax rate was 16.6% in the first nine months of 2014 as compared to 12.3% in the first nine months of 2013

Our income tax expense and effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2013 primarily reflect favorable foreign tax rates, along with our inability to realize a tax benefit for current foreign losses. For the three months ended September 30, 2013, we recorded tax expense of $2.2 million relating to certain changes in estimates in a foreign jurisdiction. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2013, we recorded a tax benefit of $1.5 million relating to the release of a prior year unrecognized tax benefit due to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations and a tax benefit of $3.3 million relating to an election we made in the first nine months of 2013 regarding the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses in a foreign jurisdiction.

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, we settled a transfer pricing examination of our 2006 income tax return with the Mexican tax authorities. This settlement resulted in a reduction of our liability for unrecognized income tax benefits and a cash payment of $4.7 million.

Based on the status of audits outside the U.S., and the protocol of finalizing audits by the relevant tax authorities, it is not possible to estimate the impact of changes, if any, to previously recorded uncertain tax positions. Although it is not possible to predict the timing of the conclusion of all ongoing audits with certainty, we anticipate that the current 2007 and 2008 audits with the Mexican tax authorities will be completed before 2016. It is possible that a change in the unrecognized tax benefits may occur as a result of the completion of this audit; however, quantification of an estimated range cannot be made at this time.