

12.	Income Taxes

The Company’s effective tax rate was 24.7 percent and 24.8 percent for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively, as compared to 35.4 percent and 35.5 percent for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. The decline in our tax rate was primarily due to the 2017 Tax Act, which reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent effective January 1, 2018.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recorded a provisional amount of one-time income tax benefit of $60.6 million associated with the 2017 Tax Act. During the third quarter of 2018, the Company recorded an adjustment to the one-time income tax benefit attributable to the Company updating its estimate of foreign undistributed earnings, which was materially offset by an adjustment to certain deferred tax attributes as a result of further clarification provided by the IRS relative to IRC 162(m). The income tax benefit of $60.6 million may be impacted by future clarification and guidance, primarily related to state tax conformity to federal tax changes, however, we do not expect such changes to be material to our financial statements. As of September 30, 2018, we are still evaluating the effects of GILTI provisions as guidance and interpretations continue to emerge. However, we do not expect the impact to be material to our financial statements. We have not determined the accounting policy of either treating taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current period expense when incurred, or factoring such amounts into the Company’s measurement of its deferred taxes. However, the standard requires that we reflect the impact of the GILTI provisions as a period expense until the accounting policy is finalized in the fourth quarter. Therefore, we have included the provisional estimate of GILTI related to current year operations in our estimated annual effective tax rate and will update the impact and accounting policy as the analysis related to the GILTI provisions is completed in the fourth quarter.

Undistributed earnings and profits of certain foreign subsidiaries of the Company amounted to $61.8 million and $58.7 million at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. These earnings and profits are considered to be indefinitely reinvested. The 2017 Tax Act imposes a one-time transition tax on foreign undistributed earnings and profits, which is included in our 2017 U.S. Income Tax Return. The Company intends to offset the transition tax with net operating loss carryforwards and accordingly does not expect this tax to result in additional cash tax payable.

For the period ending September 30, 2018, except for GILTI, as indicated above, the Company did not record United States federal income tax on its share of the income of its foreign subsidiaries. Upon distribution of these earnings and profits in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company would be subject to withholding taxes payable to foreign countries, where applicable, and to certain state income taxes, but would have no further federal income tax liability.