Impairment, restructuring and other charges (benefit). During the six months ended December 31, 2020, we incurred $7.2 million for exit activities associated with an expired turnkey contract in Mexico. Such exit costs commenced in the first quarter of the fiscal year and include $2.8 million for employee terminations, $1.1 million for facility closure and other exit costs, direct transaction costs of $2.7 million, and $0.6 million for right-of-use asset impairment. We also incurred costs of $1.2 million for employee terminations and facility closure costs for operational efficiency activities and $0.3 million for acquisition-related activities, partially offset by a net benefit of $0.5 million for reimbursements from our insurance carriers for covered legal charges.
During the six months ended December 31, 2019, we recognized a net benefit of $3.5 million primarily related to reimbursements from our insurance carriers for covered legal charges, partially offset by additional legal fees related to class action litigation and government investigations. This benefit was partially offset by employee termination costs of $0.5 million for operational efficiency activities.
Other Income and Expenses
Interest and other expense, net. For the six months ended December 31, 2020, interest and other expense, net was $8.4 million as compared to $9.6 million in the comparable prior-year period. This decrease was driven primarily by lower average levels of borrowing under our revolving credit facility as well as lower average interest rates during the six months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in the prior year. Interest expense included $4.4 million and $4.5 million of non-cash interest expense during the six months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively, primarily related to the Notes (see Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion).
Income taxes. For the six months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, we recognized a provision for income taxes of $6.5 million and $11.2 million, respectively. The effective tax rate for the six months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 was 13.5% and 27.7%, respectively. During the six months ended December 31, 2019, we recognized a discrete tax benefit of $6.9 million primarily for equity-based compensation under ASU 2016-09. During the six months ended December 31, 2020, we recognized a net discrete tax provision of $0.1 million primarily for return-to-provision adjustments which were partially offset by equity-based compensation under ASU 2016-09. Excluding the impact of these discrete tax items, our effective tax rate for the six months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 was 27.8% and 27.5%, respectively.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our principal sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents, cash generated from operations and our credit facility. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $72.6 million at December 31, 2020, a decrease of $3.5 million, or 4.6%, from $76.1 million at June 30, 2020. We currently anticipate that our available funds, credit facilities and cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our operational cash needs for the next 12 months and the foreseeable future. In addition, we anticipate that cash generated from operations, without repatriating earnings from our non-U.S. subsidiaries, will be sufficient to satisfy our obligations in the U.S., including our outstanding lines of credit.
We have a five-year revolving credit facility that allows us to borrow up to $535 million. As of December 31, 2020, there was $18.0 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility and letters of credit outstanding totaled $71.2 million.
Cash Provided by Operating Activities. Cash flows from operating activities can fluctuate significantly from period to period, as net income, adjusted for non-cash items, and working capital fluctuations impact cash flows. During the six months ended December 31, 2020, we generated cash from operations of $89.5 million compared to $59.6 million in the same prior-year period. This increase was driven by favorable changes in net working capital, partially offset by cash payments associated with the exit of a contract in Mexico.
Cash Used in Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was $20.5 million for the six months ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $15.6 million in the same prior-year period. During the six months ended December 31 2020, we used cash of $3.0 million for the acquisition of a business. Capital expenditures in the six month period ended December 31, 2020 were $8.5 million compared to $11.6 million in the same prior-year period. Expenditures for intangible and other assets in the six month period ended December 31, 2020 were $7.0 million compared to $3.9 million in the same prior-year period. Purchases of marketable securities in the six month period ended December 31, 2020 were $2.6 million while there were none in the same prior-year period.
Cash Used in Financing Activities. Net cash used in financing activities was $75.4 million during the six months ended December 31, 2020, compared to $45.9 million during the same prior-year period. The changes in cash used in financing activities primarily relate to (i) net repayments of borrowings on bank lines of credit totaling $41.0 million in the six month period ended December 31, 2020 compared to net borrowings of $3.0 million in the same prior-year period and (ii) $36.1 million used for share repurchases and taxes