Income Taxes

Income before income taxes and minority interest consists of the following:



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
United States	$	42,429	$	18,415	$	70,695
Foreign	20,545		10,083		13,847
	$	62,974	$	28,498	$	84,542

Significant components of the provision for income taxes are as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Current:
Federal	$	14,369		$	12,673		$	21,779
State	876			900			462
Foreign	5,976			3,765			2,896
	21,221			17,338			25,137
Deferred:
Federal	(962		)	(8,603		)	(1,718		)
State	(66		)	77			(142		)
Foreign	(1,463		)	(819		)	109
	(2,491		)	(9,345		)	(1,751		)
	$	18,730		$	7,993		$	23,386

The reconciliation of income taxes computed at the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to income tax expense is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Income tax expense at U.S. statutory rate	$	22,041		$	9,974		$	29,589
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	810			976			319
Foreign income (loss), net of credit on foreign taxes	137			176			(31		)
Effective tax rate differential of earnings outside of U.S.	(1,901		)	(1,221		)	(1,455		)
Foreign investment tax credit	(777		)	(305		)	(385		)
Non-taxable gain on acquisition of business	—			(394		)	(2,434		)
Non-deductible (taxable) items	74			(144		)	(735		)
(Income) provision for tax contingencies	(28		)	2			(69		)
Domestic production activities deduction	(1,626		)	(1,071		)	(1,413		)
	$	18,730		$	7,993		$	23,386

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:



	December 31, 2011			December 31, 2010
Deferred tax assets:
Accruals and reserves	$	14,036		$	13,699
Pensions	5,562			4,245
Inventory	1,630			1,363
Stock options	4,539			5,412
Tax credit carryforwards	1,070			594
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards	1,405			861
Federal net operating loss carryforward	—			10,189
State net operating loss carryforward	1,442			947
Other — net	1,138			1,279
Total deferred tax assets before valuation allowance	$	30,822		$	38,589
Valuation allowance	(1,869		)	(758		)
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	$	28,953		$	37,831
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	$	16,392		$	11,973
Intangibles	38,888			52,312
Convertible notes	3,613			—
Total deferred tax liabilities	$	58,893		$	64,285
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	29,940		$	26,454

Tax Credit Carryforwards: As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a gross deferred tax asset for tax credit carryforwards of $1,070. These credit carryforwards are subject to expiration in 2015.

Federal and State net operating loss carryforwards: As a result of the SeQual acquisition, the Company acquired $38,700 of federal net operating losses and $34,400 of state net operating losses. Internal Revenue Code 382 will limit the use of state net operating losses to $25,100. The Company made an election under Internal Revenue Code Section 338(g) which resulted in a step-up in tax basis of the acquired assets in exchange for the extinguishment of the federal loss carryovers. The remaining state net operating losses expire between 2012 and 2030. The gross deferred tax asset for the state net operating losses of $1,442 is partially offset by a valuation allowance of $695.

Foreign net operating loss carryforwards: As of December 31, 2011, cumulative foreign operating losses of $5,741 generated by the Company were available to reduce future taxable income. Approximately $3,629 of these operating losses expire between 2014 and 2016. The remaining $2,112 can be carried forward indefinitely. The gross deferred tax asset for the foreign operating losses of $1,405 is partially offset by a valuation allowance of $1,174.

The Company has not provided for income taxes on approximately $115,847 of foreign subsidiaries' undistributed earnings as of December 31, 2011, since the earnings retained have been reinvested indefinitely by the subsidiaries. It is not practicable to estimate the additional income taxes and applicable foreign withholding taxes that would be payable on the remittance of such undistributed earnings.

The Company had net income tax payments of $17,130, $15,266 and $24,659 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The reconciliation of beginning to ending unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of the year	$	2,468		$	1,470		$	1,903
Additions for tax positions of prior years	128			2,170			22
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(22		)	(22		)	(22		)
Lapse of statutes of limitation	(134		)	(1,150		)	(433		)
Unrecognized tax benefits at end of the year	$	2,440		$	2,468		$	1,470

The amount of unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2011 was $2,440. This amount, if ultimately recognized, will reduce the Company’s annual effective tax rate.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. The Company had accrued approximately $77 for the payment of interest and penalties at December 31, 2011. The Company accrued approximately $42 and $50 for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, in additional interest associated with uncertain tax positions.

The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various states and foreign jurisdictions. Tax regulations within each jurisdiction are subject to the interpretation of the related tax laws and regulations and require significant judgment to apply. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2005.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) commenced an examination of the Company’s U.S. income tax return for 2008 during 2010. In addition, the IRS is examining the 2005 and 2006 amended returns that were filed. The Company expects the examinations to be completed during 2012. Due to the potential resolution of the federal examination and the expiration of various statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2011 may decrease within the next twelve months by approximately $1,022.