XML 29 R18.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.2
Note 13 - Income Taxes
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Notes to Financial Statements  
Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 13 – INCOME TAXES

 

The Company determines its provision for income taxes for interim periods using an estimate of its annual effective tax rate and records any changes affecting the estimated annual effective tax rate in the interim period in which the change occurs, including discrete tax items.

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company’s effective tax rate was 17.6%, as compared to 26.5% in the first six months of 2018.  The effective tax rate decreased due to the favorable impact of discrete items recognized during the second quarter of 2019 related to company-owned life insurance and the remeasurement of unrecognized tax benefits.     

 

Accounting standards require that all tax positions be analyzed using a two-step approach.  The first step requires an entity to determine if a tax position is more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination.  In the second step, the tax benefit is measured as the largest amount of benefit, determined on a cumulative probability basis, that is more-likely-than-not to be realized upon ultimate settlement. In the first six months of 2019, the Company decreased its liability for unrecognized tax benefits by $2.5 million. As of June 30, 2019, the Company had accrued approximately $25.6 million for unrecognized tax benefits.  In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company’s deferred tax asset as of June 30, 2019 reflects a reduction for $2.8 million of these unrecognized tax benefits.