the following table summarizes the activity in our gross unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended december 31: .
as of december 31 , 2009 , what was the percent unrecognized tax benefits related to tax positions taken by allied prior to the merger .
new accounting guidance for business combinations is effective for our 2009 financial statements . this new guidance significantly changes the treatment of acquired uncertain tax liabilities . under previous guidance , changes in acquired uncertain tax liabilities were recognized through goodwill . under this new guidance , subsequent changes in acquired unrecognized tax liabilities are recognized through the income tax provision . as of december 31 , 2009 , $ 211.9 million of the $ 242.2 million of unrecognized tax benefits related to tax positions taken by allied prior to the merger . included in the balance at december 31 , 2009 are approximately $ 217.6 million of unrecognized tax benefits ( net of the federal benefit on state issues ) that , if recognized , would affect the effective income tax rate in future periods . during 2009 , we settled our outstanding tax dispute related to allied 2019s risk management companies ( see 2014 risk management companies ) with both the doj and the irs . this settlement reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $ 299.6 million . during 2009 , we also settled with the irs , through an accounting method change , our outstanding tax dispute related to intercompany insurance premiums paid to allied 2019s captive insurance company . this settlement reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits by approxi- mately $ 62.6 million . in addition to these federal matters , we also resolved various state matters that , in the aggregate , reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits during 2009 by approximately $ 5.8 million . we recognize interest and penalties as incurred within the provision for income taxes in our consolidated statements of income . related to the unrecognized tax benefits previously noted , we accrued interest of $ 24.5 million during 2009 and , in total as of december 31 , 2009 , have recognized a liability for penalties of $ 1.5 million and interest of $ 92.3 million . during 2008 , we accrued penalties of $ 0.2 million and interest of $ 5.2 million and , in total at december 31 , 2008 , had recognized a liability for penalties of $ 88.1 million and interest of $ 180.0 million . during 2007 , we accrued interest of $ 0.9 million and , in total at december 31 , 2007 , had recognized a liability for penalties and interest of $ 5.5 million . the decrease in accrued interest and penalties between 2009 and 2008 was driven mainly by the settlements discussed previously . however , the current year interest expense increased due to the accrual of a full twelve months of interest expense on allied 2019s acquired uncertain tax positions versus only one month of accrued interest expense recorded in 2008 . gross unrecognized tax benefits that we expect to settle in the following twelve months are in the range of $ 10.0 million to $ 20.0 million . it is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits will increase or decrease in the next twelve months . republic services , inc . and subsidiaries notes to consolidated financial statements , continued .