payable, and recorded a corresponding tax benefit in Provision for taxes on income (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements––Note 7. Taxes on Income).

Our effective tax rate for continuing operations was 11.9% in 2010, 20.3% in 2009 and 17.0% in 2008. The lower tax rate in 2010 compared to 2009 is primarily the result of:

• the aforementioned $1.4 billion reduction in unrecognized tax benefits and $600 million in interest on these unrecognized tax benefits, which were recorded as a result of the favorable tax audit settlement pertaining to prior years;

• a $320 million reduction in unrecognized tax benefits and $140 million in interest on these unrecognized tax benefits resulting from the resolution of certain tax positions pertaining to prior years with various foreign tax authorities as well as from the expiration of the statute of limitations; and

• the tax impact of the charge incurred for asbestos litigation, partially offset by:

  • •

higher expenses, incurred as a result of our acquisition of Wyeth, and the mix of jurisdictions in which those expenses were incurred;

the write-off of the deferred tax asset of approximately $270 million related to the Medicare Part D subsidy for retiree prescription drug coverage, resulting from changes in the U.S. Healthcare Legislation concerning the tax treatment of that subsidy effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012; and

• the non-recurrence of a tax benefit of $174 million that was recorded in the third quarter of 2009 related to the final resolution of a previously disclosed settlement that resulted in the receipt of information that raised our assessment of the likelihood of prevailing on the technical merits of our tax position, and the non-recurrence of the $556 million tax benefit recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009 related to the sale of one of our biopharmaceutical companies, Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Both items are discussed further below.

The higher tax rate for 2009, compared to 2008, is primarily due to the increased tax costs associated with certain business decisions executed to finance the Wyeth acquisition, partially offset by a tax benefit of $556 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009 related to the sale of one of our biopharmaceutical companies, Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and a tax benefit of $174 million recorded in the third quarter of 2009 related to the resolution of certain investigations concerning Bextra and various other products that resulted in the receipt of information that raised our assessment of the likelihood of prevailing on the technical merits of our tax position. The higher tax rate in 2009 also was partially offset by the decrease in IPR&D charges, which generally are not deductible for tax purposes. Also, the 2008 tax rate reflects tax benefits of $305 million related to favorable tax settlements for multiple tax years and $426 million related to the sale of one of our biopharmaceutical companies, Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., which were both recorded in the first half of 2008. 2008 also reflects the impact of the third-quarter 2008 provision for the proposed resolution of certain Bextra and Celebrex civil