Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Our income tax provision for the periods presented and the respective effective income tax rates for such periods are as follows (in millions, except for income tax rates):



	For the Three Months Ended						For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
Income tax provision	$	21.5		$	23.0		$	55.5		$	42.7

Effective income tax rate	30.3		%	37.3		%	30.9		%	30.1		%

Our provision for income taxes for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 was $21.5 million and $23.0 million, respectively, and our effective income tax rate was 30.3% and 37.3%, respectively. The provision for the three months ended

September 30, 2019 includes an adjustment for an income tax benefit of $1.3 million, net, for discrete tax items related primarily to the closure of a US federal income tax audit for the 2013 to 2016 tax years, adjustments based on the filing of income tax returns in several US and foreign jurisdictions, and the recording of a valuation allowance against foreign tax credit carryforward attributes for US tax purposes. The provision for the three months ended September 30, 2018 includes an adjustment for an income tax expense of $1.5 million, net, for discrete tax items primarily related to changes in valuation allowances for net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. state tax purposes. Without the discrete tax items, the effective income tax rate would have been 32.2% and 34.9%, respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

Our provision for income taxes for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 was $55.5 million and $42.7 million, respectively, and our effective income tax rate was 30.9% and 30.1%. The provision for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes an adjustment for an income tax benefit of $3.3 million, net, for discrete items primarily related to adjustments that should have been recognized in a prior period, the closure of a US federal income tax audit for the 2013 to 2016 tax years, and the recording of a valuation allowance in the U.S. and various states. See Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies for additional information. The provision for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 includes an adjustment for an income tax benefit of $7.4 million, net, for discrete items primarily related to an adjustment pursuant to the accounting for the Tax Reform Act, changes in valuation allowances in various jurisdictions, and an adjustment for stock-based compensation in accordance with ASU 2016-09. Without the $3.3 million net discrete tax benefit in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and the $7.4 million tax benefit in the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the effective income tax rate would have been 32.7% and 35.3%, respectively.

We have various income tax returns under examination. The most significant of these are in South Korea for the 2011 to 2014 tax years and Denmark for the 2013 to 2015 tax years. In 2016, the South Korean branch of one of our subsidiaries received income tax assessment notices for the years 2011 to 2014 totaling $9.4 million (KRW 11.3 billion). We believe that these assessments are without merit and are currently appealing the actions. In addition, during the quarter ended March 31, 2018, one of our Danish subsidiaries received an audit inquiry from the Danish tax authority relating to transfer pricing and related issues for the tax years 2013 to 2015. We have been responding to the request and related questions and in April 2019, we received a proposed tax adjustment for the 2013 tax year which is not material. We have not yet received any proposed tax adjustments with respect to the 2014 or 2015 tax years. We believe that the proposed adjustment received for the 2013 tax year is without merit and are defending our positions.

An unfavorable resolution of one or more of the above matters could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or cash flows in the quarter and year in which an adjustment is recorded or the tax is due or paid. As audits and examinations are still in process or we have not yet reached the final stages of the appeals process, the timing of the ultimate resolution and any payments that may be required for the above matters cannot be determined at this time.