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INCOME TAXES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Income tax expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020, was $37.0 million, or 34.5% of income before taxes, compared with $75.4 million, or 19.2% of income before taxes, for the three months ended June 30, 2019. Income tax expense for the six months ended June 30, 2020, was $28.9 million, or 7.0% of income before taxes, compared with $51.1 million, or 7.6% of income before taxes, for the six months ended June 30, 2019.
The effective tax rates for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, and 2019, differed from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% mainly due to excess tax benefits associated with employee equity plans, the effect of income earned by certain overseas entities being taxed at rates lower than the federal statutory rate, and the federal research and development (“R&D”) credit benefit, partially offset by state income taxes (net of federal benefit) and U.S. tax on foreign earnings. The effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, also reflected a $36.8 million increase in income tax expense discussed below.
In July 2015, a U.S. Tax Court opinion (the “2015 Opinion”) was issued involving an independent third party related to charging foreign subsidiaries for share-based compensation. Based on the findings of the U.S. Tax Court, direct share-based compensation has been excluded from the Company's intercompany charges starting in 2015. In June 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Ninth Circuit”) reversed the 2015 Opinion (the “Ninth Circuit Opinion”). Subsequently, a re-hearing of the case was requested but was denied in November 2019. In February 2020, a petition was filed to appeal the Ninth Circuit Opinion to the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 22, 2020, which makes the Ninth Circuit Opinion binding precedent in the Ninth Circuit. As a result, the Company increased its unrecognized tax benefits by $36.8 million with a corresponding increase to income tax expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, related to the intercompany charges for share-based compensation for relevant periods prior to 2020. The Company will continue to monitor future Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") actions or other developments regarding this matter and will assess the impact of any such developments to its income tax provision in the quarter that they occur. The Company is treating share-based compensation expense in accordance with the Ninth Circuit Opinion for 2020 and going forward.
The Company files federal, state, and foreign income tax returns in many U.S. and OUS jurisdictions. Years before 2016 are closed for the significant jurisdictions. Certain of the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits could change due to activities of various tax authorities, including evolving interpretations of existing tax laws in the jurisdictions the Company operates, potential assessment of additional tax, possible settlement of audits, or through normal expiration of various statutes of limitations, which could affect the Company’s effective tax rate in the period in which they change. Due to the uncertainty related to the timing and potential outcome of audits, the Company cannot estimate the range of reasonably possible change in unrecognized tax benefits that may occur in the next 12 months.
The Company is subject to the examination of its income tax returns by the IRS and other tax authorities. The outcome of these audits cannot be predicted with certainty. The Company’s management regularly assesses the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of the Company’s provision for income taxes. If any issues addressed in the Company’s tax audits are resolved in a manner not consistent with management’s expectations, the Company could be required to adjust its provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs.