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Income Taxes
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
At the end of each interim period, we estimate our annual effective tax rate and apply that rate to our interim earnings. We also record the tax impact of certain unusual or infrequently occurring items, including changes in judgment about valuation allowances and the effects of changes in tax laws or rates, in the interim period in which they occur.
The computation of the annual estimated effective tax rate at each interim period requires certain estimates and significant judgment including, but not limited to, the expected operating income for the year, projections of the proportion of income earned and taxed in state and foreign jurisdictions, permanent and temporary differences between book and taxable income, and the likelihood of recovering deferred tax assets generated in the current year. The accounting estimates used to compute the provision for income taxes may change as new events occur, additional information is obtained or as the tax environment changes.    
Our effective income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2015 was 35.5% compared with 34.0% for the comparable prior year period. The higher effective income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2015 is primarily a result of our expected geographic distribution of income, as we expect a smaller proportion of our annual pretax income will be generated in lower tax rate international jurisdictions. In addition, the tax provision for the first quarter of 2015 includes unfavorable discrete items of $0.7 million as a result of U.S. state deferred tax adjustments, compared to $0.1 million of unfavorable discrete items during the prior year first quarter.