2009 Compared to 2008
The $21 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2009 represents the difference between the purchase price and net carrying amount of Senior Notes we repurchased during the period. For additional information on the debt extinguishment, see the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section later in this report. The $5 million impairment of equity securities in 2009 reflected an other-than-temporary impairment of marketable securities in accordance with the guidance for accounting for certain investments in debt and equity securities. For additional information on the impairment, see Footnote No. 5, "Fair Value Measurements."
2008 Compared to 2007
The $28 million gain on debt extinguishment in 2008 represents the difference between the purchase price and net carrying amount of our Senior Notes we repurchased. For additional information on the debt extinguishment, see the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section later in this report. The $25 million decrease in gains on sales of real estate and other primarily reflected a $23 million gain associated with sales of real estate in our International segment as well as other smaller gains on sale of real estate in 2007 that did not occur in 2008. The $12 million gain on forgiveness of debt in 2007 was associated with government incentives noted in the "2007 Compared to 2006" section in our 2008 Form 10-K. Gain on sale of joint venture and other investments of $31 million in 2007 reflected an $18 million gain associated with the sale of stock we held and net gains totaling $13 million on the sale of joint venture investments. Income from cost method joint ventures decreased $17 million to a loss of $3 million in 2008 compared to the prior year primarily due to certain cost method tax investments that we deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired (see the "Other Charges" section of Footnote No. 20, "Restructuring Costs and Other Charges," in our 2008 Form 10-K for more information).
Interest Expense
2009 Compared to 2008
Interest expense decreased by $45 million (28 percent) to $118 million in 2009 compared to $163 million in 2008. Interest expense associated with commercial paper and our $2.4 billion multicurrency revolving credit facility (our "Credit Facility") decreased by $25 million reflecting the repayment of our commercial paper in 2008 and increased borrowings under the Credit Facility with a lower interest rate. We also benefited from a $26 million decrease in interest costs associated with various programs that we operate on behalf of owners (including our Marriott Rewards, gift certificates, and self-insurance programs) as a result of lower interest rates, and the repurchase of some of our Senior Notes across multiple series in the 2008 fourth quarter and 2009 first quarter (see "Liquidity and Capital Resources" later in this section for additional information), which resulted in a $12 million reduction to interest expense, and finally, other interest expense decreases of $5 million. These decreases in interest expense were partially offset by a $23 million unfavorable variance to 2008 as a result of lower capitalized interest in 2009 associated with construction projects.
2008 Compared to 2007
Interest expense decreased by $21 million (11 percent) to $163 million in 2008 compared to $184 million in 2007. The decrease in interest expense compared to the prior year reflected a charge of $13 million for interest on the excise taxes associated with the ESOP settlement in 2007. Interest expense associated with commercial paper and our Credit Facility decreased in 2008 reflecting a reduction in the amount of commercial paper outstanding, lower interest rates on commercial paper, and increased borrowings under the Credit Facility with a lower interest rate. As a result, year-over-year interest expense was lower by $7 million. We also benefited from a $15 million decrease in interest costs associated with various programs that we operate on behalf of owners as a result of lower interest rates, a $6 million favorable variance to the prior year for higher capitalized interest associated with construction projects, and the maturity of our Series E Senior Notes in early 2008 yielding a $6 million favorable variance to the prior year. The write-off of $2 million of deferred financing costs in 2007 related to the refinancing of our revolving credit agreement resulted in a favorable variance in 2008. These favorable variances to the prior year were partially offset by the impact of the Series I and Series J Senior Notes issuances, which occurred in the second half of 2007 that increased our interest expense in 2008 by $30 million.
Interest Income and Income Tax
2009 Compared to 2008
Interest income decreased by $14 million (36 percent) to $25 million in 2009, from $39 million in 2008, primarily reflecting $8 million of interest income we recorded in 2008 for three loans that subsequently became impaired. Because we recognize interest on impaired loans on a cash basis, we did not recognize any interest on these impaired loans in 2009. The decline in interest income also reflected $5 million of lower interest income due to a decline in interest rates on our cash balances, $2 million of previously reserved interest income collected in 2008, and $2 million of lower interest income in 2009 reflecting a reduction in principal due associated with one loan, partially offset by $4 million of additional interest income from new loans funded at year-end 2008 and in 2009.
As noted earlier in the "Operating Income" discussion, we now classify the 2009 and 2008 provisions for loan losses as "General, administrative, and other" expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Income.
Our tax provision decreased by $415 million (119 percent) to a benefit of $65 million in 2009 from a provision of $350 million in 2008, reflecting a pretax loss in 2009 and $43 million of lower tax expense associated with our deferred compensation plan. The decrease was partially offset by an increase to the effective tax rate in 2009 due to a change in our mix of worldwide income resulting from substantial reductions of foreign income in jurisdictions with low tax rates. The 2009 tax rate also reflected $52 million of income tax expense, primarily related to the treatment of funds received from certain foreign subsidiaries, an issue that is the subject of ongoing discussions between us and the IRS. The charges recorded in 2009 primarily relate to our ongoing current fiscal year exposure related to this issue. In addition to tax expense on pretax earnings, tax expense for 2008 also reflected: (1) $29 million of income tax expense primarily related to an unfavorable U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision involving a refund claim associated with a 1994 tax planning transaction; (2) $19 million of income tax expense due primarily to prior years' tax adjustments, including a settlement with the IRS that resulted in a lower than expected refund of taxes associated with a 1995 leasing transaction; and (3) $24 million of income tax expense related to the tax treatment of funds received from certain foreign subsidiaries.
2008 Compared to 2007
Interest income increased by $1 million (3 percent) to $39 million from $38 million in the prior year.
As noted earlier in the "Operating Income" discussion and later in Footnote No. 1, "Significant Accounting Policies," we now classify the 2008 provision for loan losses and $5 million of the $17 million 2007 provision for loan losses as "General, administrative, and other" expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Income. We also now classify the remaining $12 million of the 2007 provision for loan losses as "Equity in (losses) earnings" in our Consolidated Statements of Income, as discussed under that caption later in this section.
Our tax provision decreased by $91 million (21 percent) to $350 million in 2008 from a tax provision of $441 million in 2007 and reflected the impact associated with lower pretax income in 2008, a 2007 charge for a German legislative tax change, and $6 million of taxes in 2007 associated with additional interest on the ESOP settlement. This decrease was partially offset by $39 million in higher deferred compensation costs in 2008 and a higher tax rate in 2008. The higher 2008 tax rate reflected: (1) $29 million of income tax expense primarily related to an unfavorable U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision involving a refund claim associated with a 1994 tax planning transaction; (2) $19 million of income tax expense due primarily to prior years' tax adjustments, including a settlement with the IRS that resulted in a lower than expected refund of taxes associated with a 1995 leasing transaction; and (3) $24 million of income tax expense related to the tax treatment of funds received from certain foreign subsidiaries.
Equity in (Losses) Earnings
2009 Compared to 2008
Equity in losses of $66 million in 2009 increased by $81 million from equity in earnings of $15 million in 2008 and primarily reflected a $30 million impairment charge in 2009 associated with a Luxury segment joint venture investment that we determined to be fully impaired (see the "Other Charges" caption in the "Restructuring Costs and Other Charges" section for more information). The decrease in joint venture equity earnings also reflected an unfavorable comparison to $15 million of equity earnings in 2008 from a joint venture that sold portfolio assets and had significant associated gains, and $5 million of earnings in 2008 from another joint venture primarily reflecting insurance proceeds received by that joint venture. Further contributing to the decline were $24 million of decreased earnings in 2009 for a Timeshare segment joint venture residential and fractional project, $7 million of equity losses associated with a North American Limited-Service segment joint venture, a $3 million impairment and $2 million of other equity losses associated with an International segment joint venture, and $9 million of equity losses at certain other joint ventures, all of which were negatively affected by the weak demand environment. The unfavorable impacts also included a $3 million impairment charge for a joint venture that is not allocated to one of our segments and for which we do not expect to recover our investment. These decreases were partially offset by an unfavorable $11 million impact in 2008 associated with tax law changes in a country in which two international joint ventures operate and a 2008 impairment charge of $9 million associated with one Luxury segment joint venture under development. See the "Other Charges" section of Footnote No. 21, "Restructuring Costs and Other Charges," for more information on some of these joint venture impairments.
2008 Compared to 2007
Equity in earnings of $15 million in 2008 decreased $12 million from earnings of $3 million in 2007 and primarily reflected $14 million of increased earnings from a joint venture, which sold portfolio assets in 2008 and had significant associated gains, $10 million of favorable variances for three joint ventures that experienced losses due to start-up costs in the prior year, and $5 million of increased earnings from an International segment joint venture primarily reflecting insurance proceeds received by that joint venture in 2008, partially offset by an unfavorable $11 million impact associated with tax law changes in a country in which two international joint ventures operate, an impairment charge of $9 million associated with one Luxury segment joint venture under development, and a $7 million impact related to contract cancellation allowances recorded at one Timeshare segment joint venture (see the "Other Charges" section of Footnote No. 20, "Restructuring Costs and Other Charges," in our 2008 Form 10-K for more information on the impairment and contract cancellation allowances). In 2007, we also recorded a $12 million loan loss provision related to one property where we have a joint venture investment that is not allocated to one of our segments, which as discussed in Footnote No. 1, "Significant Accounting Policies," we now classify under the "Equity in (losses) earnings" caption in our Consolidated Statements of Income.
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