MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) (In thousands, except percent and per share data) The following table summarizes expected benefit payments through 2019 for the Pension Plans, including those payments expected to be paid from the Company’s general assets.
Since the majority of the benefit payments are made in the form of lump-sum distributions, actual benefit payments may differ from expected benefit payments.
## Table 0 ##
Substantially all of the Company’s U. S.  employees are eligible to participate in a defined contribution savings plan (the “Savings Plan”) sponsored by the Company.
The Savings Plan allows employees to contribute a portion of their base compensation on a pre-tax and after-tax basis in accordance with specified guidelines.
The Company matches a percentage of employees’ contributions up to certain limits.
In 2007 and prior years, the Company could also contribute to the Savings Plan a discretionary profit sharing component linked to Company performance during the prior year.
Beginning in 2008, the discretionary profit sharing amount related to prior year Company performance was paid directly to employees as a short-term cash incentive bonus rather than as a contribution to the Savings Plan.
In addition, the Company has several defined contribution plans outside of the United States.
The Company’s contribution expense related to all of its defined contribution plans was $40,627, $35,341 and $26,996 for 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Note 13.
Postemployment and Postretirement Benefits The Company maintains a postretirement plan (the “Postretirement Plan”) providing health coverage and life insurance benefits for substantially all of its U. S.  employees hired before July 1, 2007.
The Company amended the life insurance benefits under the Postretirement Plan effective January 1, 2007.
The impact, net of taxes, of this amendment was an increase of $1,715 to accumulated other comprehensive income in 2007.
In 2009, the Company recorded a $3,944 benefit expense as a result of enhanced postretirement medical benefits under the Postretirement Plan provided to employees that chose to participate in a voluntary transition program.
MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) (In thousands, except percent and per share data) The Company does not make any contributions to its Postretirement Plan other than funding benefits payments.
The following table summarizes expected net benefit payments from the Company’s general assets through 2019:
## Table 1 ##
The Company provides limited postemployment benefits to eligible former U. S.  employees, primarily severance under a formal severance plan (the “Severance Plan”).
The Company accounts for severance expense by accruing the expected cost of the severance benefits expected to be provided to former employees after employment over their relevant service periods.
The Company updates the assumptions in determining the severance accrual by evaluating the actual severance activity and long-term trends underlying the assumptions.
As a result of updating the assumptions, the Company recorded incremental severance expense (benefit) related to the Severance Plan of $3,471, $2,643 and $(3,418), respectively, during the years 2009, 2008 and 2007.
These amounts were part of total severance expenses of $135,113, $32,997 and $21,284 in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
Note 14.
Debt On April 28, 2008, the Company extended its committed unsecured revolving credit facility, dated as of April 28, 2006 (the “Credit Facility”), for an additional year.
The new expiration date of the Credit Facility is April 26, 2011.
The available funding under the Credit Facility will remain at $2,500,000 through April 27, 2010 and then decrease to $2,000,000 during the final year of the Credit Facility agreement.
Other terms and conditions in the Credit Facility remain unchanged.
The Company’s option to request that each lender under the Credit Facility extend its commitment was provided pursuant to the original terms of the Credit Facility agreement.
Borrowings under the facility are available to provide liquidity in the event of one or more settlement failures by MasterCard International customers and, subject to a limit of $500,000, for general corporate purposes.
The facility fee and borrowing cost are contingent upon the Company’s credit rating.
At December 31, 2009, the facility fee was 7 basis points on the total commitment, or approximately $1,774 annually.
Interest on borrowings under the Credit Facility would be charged at the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus an applicable margin of 28 basis points or an alternative base rate, and a utilization fee of 10 basis points would be charged if outstanding borrowings under the facility exceed 50% of commitments.
At the inception of the Credit Facility, the Company also agreed to pay upfront fees of $1,250 and administrative fees of $325, which are being amortized over five years.
Facility and other fees associated with the Credit Facility totaled $2,222, $2,353 and $2,477 for each of the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
MasterCard was in compliance with the covenants of the Credit Facility and had no borrowings under the Credit Facility at December 31, 2009 or December 31, 2008.
The majority of Credit Facility lenders are members or affiliates of members of MasterCard International.
In June 1998, MasterCard International issued ten-year unsecured, subordinated notes (the “Notes”) paying a fixed interest rate of 6.67% per annum.
MasterCard repaid the entire principal amount of $80,000 on June 30, 2008 pursuant to the terms of the Notes.
The interest expense on the Notes was $2,668 and $5,336 for each of the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) (In thousands, except percent and per share data) Performance Stock Units The following table summarizes the Company’s PSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2009:
## Table 2 ##
1 Includes PSUs for participants that are eligible to retire and thus have fully earned their awards.
The fair value of each PSU is the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange of the Company’s Class A common stock on the date of grant.
With regard to the performance units granted in 2009, whether or not the performance stock units will vest will be based upon MasterCard performance against a predetermined return on equity goal, with an average of return on equity over the three-year period commencing January 1, 2009 yielding threshold, target or maximum performance, with a potential adjustment determined at the discretion of the MasterCard Human Resources and Compensation Committee using subjective quantitative and qualitative goals expected to be established at the beginning of each year in the performance period from 2009-2011.
These goals are expected to include MasterCard performance against internal management metrics and external relative metrics.
With regard to the performance units granted in 2008, the ultimate number of shares to be received by the employee upon vesting will be determined by the Company’s performance against predetermined net income (two-thirds weighting) and operating margin (one-third weighting) goals for the three-year period commencing January 1, 2008.
With regard to the performance units granted in 2007, the Company expects to award 200% of the original number of shares granted and not forfeited prior to vesting based upon the Company’s performance against equally weighted predetermined net income and return on equity goals for the three-year period commencing January 1, 2007 and ending December 31, 2009.
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of PSUs granted during the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 was $191.82 and $106.29, respectively.
There were no PSUs converted into shares of Class A common stock during the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007.
These performance units have been classified as equity awards, will be settled by delivering stock to the employees and contain service and performance conditions.
Given that the performance terms are subjective and not fixed on the date of grant, the performance units will be remeasured at the end of each reporting period, at fair value, until the time the performance conditions are fixed and the ultimate number of shares to be issued is determined.
Estimates are adjusted as appropriate.
Compensation expense is calculated using the number of performance stock units expected to vest; multiplied by the period ending price of a share of MasterCard’s Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange; less previously recorded compensation expense.
As of December 31, 2009, there was $28,555 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested PSUs.
The cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.2 years.
For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, the Company recorded compensation expense for the equity awards of $87,279, $59,761 and $57,162, respectively.
The total income tax benefit recognized for the
MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) (In thousands, except percent and per share data) equity awards was $30,333, $20,726 and $19,828 for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
The income tax benefit related to options exercised during 2009 was $7,545.
The additional paid-in capital balance attributed to the equity awards was $197,350, $135,538 and $114,637 as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
On July 18, 2006, the Company’s stockholders approved the MasterCard Incorporated 2006 Non-Employee Director Equity Compensation Plan (the “Director Plan”).
The Director Plan provides for awards of Deferred Stock Units (“DSUs”) to each director of the Company who is not a current employee of the Company.
There are 100 shares of Class A common stock reserved for DSU awards under the Director Plan.
During the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, the Company granted 7 DSUs, 4 DSUs and 8 DSUs, respectively.
The fair value of the DSUs was based on the closing stock price on the New York Stock Exchange of the Company’s Class A common stock on the date of grant.
The weighted average grant-date fair value of DSUs granted during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $168.18, $284.92 and $139.27, respectively.
The DSUs vested immediately upon grant and will be settled in shares of the Company’s Class A common stock on the fourth anniversary of the date of grant.
Accordingly, the Company recorded general and administrative expense of $1,151, $1,209 and $1,051 for the DSUs for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
The total income tax benefit recognized in the income statement for DSUs was $410, $371 and $413 for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Note 18.
Commitments At December 31, 2009, the Company had the following future minimum payments due under non-cancelable agreements:
## Table 3 ##
Included in the table above are capital leases with imputed interest expense of $7,929 and a net present value of minimum lease payments of $43,845.
In addition, at December 31, 2009, $63,616 of the future minimum payments in the table above for leases, sponsorship, licensing and other agreements was accrued.
Consolidated rental expense for the Company’s office space, which is recognized on a straight line basis over the life of the lease, was approximately $39,586, $42,905 and $35,614 for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Consolidated lease expense for automobiles, computer equipment and office equipment was $9,137, $7,694 and $7,679 for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
In January 2003, MasterCard purchased a building in Kansas City, Missouri for approximately $23,572.
The building is a co-processing data center which replaced a back-up data center in Lake Success, New York.
During 2003, MasterCard entered into agreements with the City of Kansas City for (i) the sale-leaseback of the building and related equipment which totaled $36,382 and (ii) the purchase of municipal bonds for the same amount
?
Investment income decreased $125 million and $347 million in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
The decreases were primarily due to lower interest income as a result of lower interest rates than in the prior years and realized gains from the sale of the Company’s RedeCard S. A.  investment.
The Company sold 22% and 78% of its shares of common stock in RedeCard S. A. , and realized gains of $86 million and $391 million, in 2008 and 2007, respectively.  ?
Interest expense increased $12 million and $46 million in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
The increases were primarily due to interest accretion associated with the American Express Settlement partially offset by lower interest accretion on the U. S.  Merchant Lawsuit Settlement in 2009 and 2008.
Additionally, in 2008 there was higher interest expense on uncertain tax positions.  ?
Other income in 2009 included a gain of approximately $14 million on the prepayment of the Company’s remaining obligation on the U. S.  Merchant Lawsuit Settlement.
A $75 million gain related to the termination of a customer business agreement was recognized in 2008 and a $90 million settlement gain with the organization that operates the World Cup soccer events was recognized in 2007.
See Note 25 (Other Income) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 for additional discussion.
Income Taxes The effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was 34.1%, 33.7% and 35.0%, respectively.
The primary cause of the changes in the effective rates was due to the litigation settlement charges recorded in 2008, which resulted in a pretax loss in a higher tax jurisdiction and pretax income in lower tax jurisdictions.
In addition, deferred tax assets were remeasured and reduced by $15 million and $21 million in 2009 and 2008, respectively, due to changes in our state effective tax rate.
As a result of the remeasurements, our income tax expense was increased for the same amounts.
The components impacting the effective income tax rates as compared to the U. S.  federal statutory tax rate of 35.0% are as follows:
## Table 4 ##
* Note that table may not sum due to rounding

<table><tr><td>2010</td><td>$18,181</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>27,090</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>21,548</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>25,513</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>24,002</td></tr><tr><td>2015-2019</td><td>128,494</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Benefit Payments</td><td>Expected Subsidy Receipts</td><td>Net Benefit Payments</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>$2,714</td><td>$71</td><td>$2,643</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>3,028</td><td>91</td><td>2,937</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>3,369</td><td>111</td><td>3,258</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>3,660</td><td>134</td><td>3,526</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>4,019</td><td>151</td><td>3,868</td></tr><tr><td>2015 – 2019</td><td>22,686</td><td>1,071</td><td>21,615</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Units</td><td> Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value</td><td> Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years)</td><td> Aggregate Intrinsic Value</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding at January 1, 2009</td><td>857</td><td>$136</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Granted</td><td>203</td><td>$184</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Converted</td><td>—</td><td>$—</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Forfeited/expired</td><td>-33</td><td>$159</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding at December 31, 2009</td><td>1,027</td><td>$145</td><td>0.7</td><td>$262,888</td></tr><tr><td>PSUs vested at December 31, 2009<sup>1</sup></td><td>305</td><td>$141</td><td>0.7</td><td>$78,170</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Total</td><td>Capital Leases</td><td>Operating Leases</td><td>Sponsorship, Licensing & Other</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>$283,987</td><td>$7,260</td><td>$25,978</td><td>$250,749</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>146,147</td><td>4,455</td><td>17,710</td><td>123,982</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>108,377</td><td>3,221</td><td>15,358</td><td>89,798</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>59,947</td><td>36,838</td><td>10,281</td><td>12,828</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>13,998</td><td>—</td><td>8,371</td><td>5,627</td></tr><tr><td>Thereafter</td><td>25,579</td><td>—</td><td>22,859</td><td>2,720</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>$638,035</td><td>$51,774</td><td>$100,557</td><td>$485,704</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="6">For the years ended December 31,</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">2009</td><td colspan="2">2008</td><td colspan="2">2007</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Dollar Amount</td><td>Percent</td><td>Dollar Amount</td><td>Percent</td><td>Dollar Amount</td><td>Percent</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="6">(In millions, except percentages)</td></tr><tr><td>Income (loss) before income tax expense</td><td>$2,218</td><td></td><td>$-383</td><td></td><td>$1,671</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Federal statutory tax</td><td>$776</td><td>35.0%</td><td>$-134</td><td>35.0%</td><td>$585</td><td>35.0%</td></tr><tr><td>State tax effect, net of federal benefit</td><td>25</td><td>1.1</td><td>11</td><td>-2.9</td><td>28</td><td>1.6</td></tr><tr><td>Foreign tax effect, net of federal benefit</td><td>-22</td><td>-1.0</td><td>2</td><td>-0.5</td><td>-12</td><td>-0.7</td></tr><tr><td>Non-deductible expenses and other differences</td><td>-18</td><td>-0.8</td><td>2</td><td>-0.7</td><td>-3</td><td>-0.2</td></tr><tr><td>Tax exempt income</td><td>-6</td><td>-0.3</td><td>-10</td><td>2.8</td><td>-12</td><td>-0.7</td></tr><tr><td>Income tax expense (benefit)</td><td>$755</td><td>34.1%</td><td>$-129</td><td>33.7%</td><td>$586</td><td>35.0%</td></tr></table>

Question: What is the difference between the greatest Federal statutory tax in 2008 and 2009？ (in million)
Answer: 24.0