Income Taxes

The federal and state and foreign income tax provision is summarized as follows:



Year Ended December 31,	2016			2015			2014
Current
Federal	$	158,411		$	159,774		$	155,273
State	10,500			7,756			8,744
Foreign	5,137			5,224			5,254
	174,048			172,754			169,271
Deferred
Federal	788			(5,343		)	1,667
State	(168		)	1,414			11
	620			(3,929		)	1,678
Total income taxes	$	174,668		$	168,825		$	170,949

Annual tax provisions include amounts considered sufficient to pay assessments that may result from examination of prior year tax returns; however, the amount ultimately paid upon resolution of issues raised may differ materially from the amount accrued. The examination and the resolution process may last longer than one year.

The components of Income before income taxes are summarized as follows:



Year Ended December 31,	2016		2015		2014
Domestic	$	481,760	$	472,384	$	475,175
Foreign	26,725		28,096		14,487
	$	508,485	$	500,480	$	489,662

The effective income tax rate differs from the federal income tax statutory rate due to the following:



Year Ended December 31,	2016		2015		2014
Statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit	1.3		1.6		1.2
Foreign tax expense and tax rate differential	(0.8	)	(1.2	)	(0.7	)
Research and development tax credit	(0.8	)	(0.6	)	(0.4	)
Domestic Production Activities Deduction	(0.6	)	(0.6	)	(0.4	)
Net change in uncertain tax positions	—		—		0.3
Settlement of state tax petition	—		(0.8	)	—
Other, net	0.2		0.3		(0.1	)
	34.3	%	33.7	%	34.9	%

The decrease in the Company's effective income tax rate in 2015 was primarily due to a one-time reduction resulting from a favorable settlement of a tax petition filed with the State of Pennsylvania relating to the apportionment methodology of net income for prior years.

Undistributed earnings of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries amounted to approximately $106,122 at December 31, 2016. Those earnings are considered to be indefinitely reinvested and, accordingly, no U.S. federal and state income taxes have been provided thereon. Upon distribution of those earnings, in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company would be subject to both U.S. income taxes, subject to an adjustment for foreign tax credits, and withholding taxes payable to the various foreign countries. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred U.S. income tax liability is not practicable because of the complexities associated with its hypothetical calculation, including the availability, or lack thereof, of foreign tax credits to reduce a portion of the U.S. liability.

Deferred income taxes for 2016, 2015 and 2014 reflect the impact of temporary differences between the amount of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and such amounts as measured by tax laws and regulations. Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:



Year Ended December 31,	2016			2015
Deferred Tax Assets:
Stock-based compensation expense	$	33,459		$	34,739
Foreign and state net operating loss carryforward	20,049			19,580
Basis differences in investments	6,165			6,439
Federal benefit of state tax deduction for uncertain tax positions	3,647			3,014
Revenue and expense recognized in different periods for financial reporting and income tax purposes	5,022			4,675
Other assets	813			1,793
Total deferred income tax assets	69,155			70,240
Less: valuation allowance	(17,922		)	(14,548		)
Net deferred income tax assets	$	51,233		$	55,692

Deferred Tax Liabilities:
Capitalized software currently deductible for tax purposes, net of amortization	$	(107,897	)	$	(111,174	)
Difference in financial reporting and income tax depreciation methods	(5,190		)	(2,695		)
Difference between book and tax basis of other assets	(4,597		)	(4,294		)
Other liabilities	(1,115		)	(557		)
Total deferred income tax liabilities	$	(118,799	)	$	(118,720	)
Net deferred income tax liabilities	$	(67,566	)	$	(63,028	)

The valuation allowances against deferred tax assets at December 31, 2016 and 2015 are related to state net operating losses from certain domestic subsidiaries as well as foreign net operating losses from certain foreign subsidiaries. Certain state and foreign tax statutes significantly limit the utilization of net operating losses for domestic and foreign subsidiaries. Furthermore, these net operating losses cannot be used to offset the net income of other subsidiaries.

The Company recognizes uncertain tax positions in accordance with the applicable accounting guidance and adjusts these liabilities when management’s judgment changes as a result of the evaluation of new information not previously available. Due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from our current estimate of the tax liabilities. The Company’s total unrecognized tax benefit, not including interest and penalties, as of December 31, 2016 was $17,287, of which $14,868 would affect the effective tax rate if the Company were to recognize the tax benefit. The gross amount of uncertain tax liability of $3,866 which is expected to be paid within one year is netted against the current payable account while the remaining amount of $14,645 is included in Other long-term liabilities on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company recognized $2,370 of previously unrecognized tax benefits relating to the lapse of the statute of limitation.

The Company files a consolidated federal income tax return and separate income tax returns with various states. Certain subsidiaries of the Company file tax returns in foreign jurisdictions. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examination for years before 2013 and is no longer subject to state, local or foreign income tax examinations by authorities for years before 2009.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefit is as follows:



	2016			2015			2014
Balance as of January 1	$	14,517		$	14,018		$	12,028
Tax positions related to current year:
Gross additions	3,756			1,954			1,957
Tax positions related to prior years:
Gross additions	1,762			297			1,369
Settlements	(378		)	—			—
Lapses on statute of limitations	(2,370		)	(1,752		)	(1,336		)
Balance as of December 31	$	17,287		$	14,517		$	14,018

The above reconciliation of the gross unrecognized tax benefit will differ from the amount which would affect the effective tax rate because of the recognition of the federal and state tax benefits.

The Company classifies all interest and penalties as income tax expense. The Company has recorded $1,227, $1,391 and $1,066 in liabilities for tax-related interest and penalties in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

The Company estimates it will recognize $3,866 of unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve months due to lapses on the statute of limitation.

The Company includes its direct and indirect subsidiaries in its U.S. consolidated federal income tax return. The Company’s tax sharing allocation agreement provides that any subsidiary having taxable income will pay a tax liability equivalent to what that subsidiary would have paid if it filed a separate income tax return. If the separately calculated federal income tax provision for any subsidiary results in a tax loss, the current benefit resulting from such loss, to the extent utilizable on a separate return basis, is accrued and paid to that subsidiary.