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Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

INCOME TAXES

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INCOME TAXES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] Ìý
Income Taxes
NOTE 9 - INCOME TAXES
For the three months ended MarchÌý31, 2015, we recorded an income tax expense in continuing operations of $175.1 million compared with an expense of $29.6 million for the comparable prior-year period. The increase of income tax expense was primarily driven by the placement of a valuation allowance against U.S. deferred tax assets that were recognized in prior years.
We determined our interim tax provision using a methodology required by ASC 740, Income Taxes, as it is the Company’s position that the use of an estimated annual effective tax rate would not be reliable. The year-to-date expense was calculated using the year-to-date income, considering non-taxable and non-deductible items expected to be incurred for the full year unless those items are expected to be ratably incurred based on operating activity or profitability, (e.g. depletion), in which case we only considered year-to-date actual amounts, multiplied by the statutory rate and offset by the computed valuation allowance.
There were discrete items recorded in the first quarter of 2015 which resulted in a $167.5 million expense. These adjustments relate primarily to the placement of a valuation allowance against US deferred tax assets that were recognized in prior years.