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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes INCOME TAXES
 
The Company uses a full year projected effective tax rate approach to calculate year-to-date taxes. In addition, certain items impacting total income tax expense are recorded in the periods in which they occur. The projected effective tax rate is the ratio of projected “Total income tax expense” divided by projected “Income before income taxes and equity in earnings of operating joint ventures.” Taxes attributable to operating joint ventures are recorded within “Equity in earnings of operating joint ventures, net of taxes.” The interim period tax expense (or benefit) is the difference between the year-to-date income tax provision and the amounts reported for the previous interim periods of the fiscal year.

The Company’s income tax provision, on a consolidated basis, amounted to an income tax expense of $636 million, or 18.6% of income (loss) before income taxes and equity in earnings of operating joint ventures, in the first three months of 2021, compared to an income tax benefit of $(58) million, or 17.2%, in the first three months of 2020. The Company’s current and prior effective tax rates differ from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% primarily due to non-taxable investment income, tax credits, foreign earnings taxed at higher rates than the U.S. statutory rate, and the items discussed below.

On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued Final Regulations which allows an annual election to exclude from the U.S. tax return certain GILTI amounts when the taxes paid by a foreign affiliate exceed 18.9% (90% of U.S. statutory rate of 21%) of the GILTI amount for that foreign affiliate (the “high-tax exception”). These regulations are effective for the 2021 taxable year with an election to apply to any taxable year beginning after 2017. In many of the countries in which we operate, including Japan, there are differences between local tax rules used to determine the tax base and the U.S. tax principles used to determine GILTI. Also, our Japan affiliates have a different tax year than the U.S. calendar tax year used to determine GILTI. Therefore, while many of the countries, including Japan, have a statutory tax rate above the 18.9% threshold, separate affiliates may not meet the 18.9% threshold each year and, as such, may not qualify for this exclusion. The Company plans to make the high-tax exception election for the 2021 tax year and reflected the impact of the election in its full year projected effective tax rate used to calculate year-to-date taxes for the first three months of 2021.

The Treasury Department and the IRS also issued Proposed Regulations on July 20, 2020 which would require that, if a high-tax exception election is made with respect to GILTI in any year, an election having the same effect must also be made with regard to income taxed under Subpart F of the Tax Code. Such an election under Subpart F of the Tax Code would apply to the Full Inclusion election made by the Company for its insurance operations in Brazil, thereby increasing the tax rate applied to our Brazil insurance operations. The Proposed Regulations will be effective for taxable years beginning after they are issued in final form.