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Income Taxes Significant Differences Between U.S. Federal Statutory Rate and Effective Income Tax Rate (Detail) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2015 | Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |  |  |  |
Federal statutory rate |  | 35.00% | 35.00% | 35.00%
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit |  | 1.70% | 0.20% | 0.70%
Change in valuation allowance | [1] | 4.70% | 1.00% | (2.20%)
Impact of foreign earnings, net | [2] | (19.60%) | (24.80%) | (10.70%)
Subpart F income |  | 6.80% | 1.20% | 0.40%
Deemed repatriation of foreign income | [3] | 91.60% | 0.00% | 0.00%
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries | [2],[3] | (99.60%) | (0.30%) | 2.90%
Nondeductible transaction costs |  | 1.80% | 0.00% | 0.00%
Depletion |  | (1.60%) | (2.40%) | (0.90%)
Revaluation of unrecognized tax benefits/reserve requirements | [4] | (11.30%) | (0.60%) | (0.10%)
Domestic manufacturing tax deduction |  | (0.90%) | (2.20%) | (0.90%)
Other items, net |  | (0.50%) | 1.60% | 0.80%
Effective income tax rate |  | 8.10% | 8.70% | 25.00%
[1] | During 2013, our Avonmouth, U.K. legal entity was dissolved, therefore the corresponding valuation allowance and deferred tax assets were written off.
[2] | During 2015, 2014 and 2013, we received actual and deemed distributions of $1.4 billion, $12.6 million and $12.3 million, respectively, from various foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures, and realized an expense, net of foreign tax credits, of $350.2 million, $2.8 million and $2.4 million, respectively, related to the repatriation of these earnings, which impacted our effective tax rate. We have asserted, for all periods being reported, indefinite investment of our share of the income of JBC, a Free Zones company under the laws of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The applicable provisions of the Jordanian law, and applicable regulations thereunder, do not have a termination provision and the exemption is indefinite. As a Free Zones company, JBC is not subject to income taxes on the profits of products exported from Jordan, and currently, substantially all of the profits are from exports. This gave us a rate benefit of 7.1%, 12.4%, and 4.5% for 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively.
[3] | In prior years, we designated the undistributed earnings of substantially all of our foreign subsidiaries as indefinitely invested. In 2015, we were not indefinitely invested in a portion of earnings from legacy Rockwood entities that were part of the repatriation planning, for which a deferred tax liability of $387.0 million was established in the opening balance sheet. This liability reversed upon the completion of the repatriation with $356.2 million impacting earnings and $30.8 million from foreign exchange differences. The reversal of this liability offsets the tax amount of $327.9 million from legacy Rockwood entities included in the deemed repatriation of foreign income.
[4] | During 2014, we released various tax reserves primarily related to the expiration of the applicable U.S. federal statute of limitations for 2009 through 2010 which provided a net benefit of approximately $2.5 million. In 2015, the main impact is from the release of reserves on the close of a U.S. federal audit, and lapse of statute of limitations. These releases provided a net benefit of approximately $41 million.

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- Definition The portion of the difference between the effective income tax rate and domestic federal statutory income tax rate attributable to amount of undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries intended to be permanently reinvested outside the United States that are not subject to U.S. federal income taxes. + References No definition available. + Details
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