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INCOME TAXES
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Our income tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of our annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items.
Provision (benefit) for income taxes and income (loss) from continuing operations before provision (benefit) for income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended March 31,
20212020
Provision (benefit) for income taxes$2,427 $(5,988)
Income (loss) from continuing operations before provision (benefit) for income taxes16,875 (216,848)
Our U.S. Federal income tax rate is 21%. The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was lower than the U.S. statutory federal income tax rate due to the benefit of non-taxable items and the U.S. research and development tax credit. The three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 were also impacted
by the pretax losses incurred in jurisdictions that have valuation allowances against their net deferred tax assets. The three months ended March 31, 2020 was impacted by the reversals of reserves for uncertain tax positions due to the closure of tax audits and by the carryback of federal net operating losses due to the income tax relief provided by the CARES Act. We expect that our consolidated effective tax rate in future periods will continue to differ significantly from the U.S. federal income tax rate as a result of our tax obligations in jurisdictions with profits and valuation allowances in jurisdictions with losses.
We are currently undergoing income tax audits in multiple jurisdictions. It is likely that the examination phase of some of those audits will conclude in the next 12 months. There are many factors, including factors outside of our control, which influence the progress and completion of those audits. We are subject to claims for tax assessments by foreign jurisdictions, including a proposed assessment for $122.4 million, inclusive of estimated incremental interest from the original assessment. We believe that the assessment, which primarily relates to transfer pricing on transactions occurring in 2011, is without merit and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in that matter. In addition to any potential increases in our liabilities for uncertain tax positions from the ultimate resolution of that assessment, we believe that it is reasonably possible that reductions of up to $3.4 million in unrecognized tax benefits may occur within the 12 months following March 31, 2021 upon closing of income tax audits or the expiration of applicable statutes of limitations.
In general, it is our practice and intention to reinvest the earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries in those operations. Additionally, while we did not incur the deemed repatriation tax, an actual repatriation from our non-U.S. subsidiaries could be subject to foreign and U.S. state income taxes. Aside from limited exceptions for which the related deferred tax liabilities recognized as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 are immaterial, we do not intend to distribute earnings of foreign subsidiaries for which we have an excess of the financial reporting basis over the tax basis of our investments and therefore have not recorded any deferred taxes related to such amounts. The actual tax cost resulting from a distribution would depend on income tax laws and circumstances at the time of distribution. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred tax liability related to the excess of the financial reporting basis over the tax basis of our foreign subsidiaries is not practical due to the complexities associated with the calculation.