Income taxes	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income taxes	15. Income taxes Income tax provisions for interim periods are based on an estimated annual income tax rate, adjusted for discrete tax items. As a result, the Company’s interim effective tax rates may vary significantly from the statutory tax rate and the annual effective tax rate. For the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the effective tax rate was 181.4% and 54.2%, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the effective tax rate was 107.9% and 51.3%, respectively. The primary factors affecting the Company’s effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, were increased limitation of the deductibility of executive compensation, financial expenses not deductible for tax purposes, and benefits related to effective settlement of the 2015 federal tax examination and statute expirations. During the first quarter of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service concluded an examination of the Company’s federal income tax return for 2015, which resulted in a benefit of $1.8 million. The Company believes it is reasonably possible that, in the next 12 months, the amount of unrecognized tax benefits related to the resolution of federal, state and foreign matters could be reduced by $13.0 million to $13.4 million as audits close and statutes expire.

Income taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

15. Income taxes

Income tax provisions for interim periods are based on an estimated annual income tax rate, adjusted for discrete tax items. As a result, the Company’s interim effective tax rates may vary significantly from the statutory tax rate and the annual effective tax rate.

For the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the effective tax rate was 181.4% and 54.2%, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the effective tax rate was 107.9% and 51.3%, respectively. The primary factors affecting the Company’s effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, were increased limitation of the deductibility of executive compensation, financial expenses not deductible for tax purposes, and benefits related to effective settlement of the 2015 federal tax examination and statute expirations.

During the first quarter of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service concluded an examination of the Company’s federal income tax return for 2015, which resulted in a benefit of $1.8 million. The Company believes it is reasonably possible that, in the next 12 months, the amount of unrecognized tax benefits related to the resolution of federal, state and foreign matters could be reduced by $13.0 million to $13.4 million as audits close and statutes expire.