Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes consists of the following components (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2015			2014			2013
Current:
Federal	$	138,432		$	144,924		$	115,150
State	25,952			24,052			20,869
Foreign	32,931			29,046			23,906
	$	197,315		$	198,022		$	159,925
Deferred:
Federal	$	22,233		$	9,321		$	6,225
State	1,212			(179		)	(550		)
Foreign	(1,057		)	(2,900		)	(1,396		)
	$	22,388		$	6,242		$	4,279
Provision for income taxes	$	219,703		$	204,264		$	164,204

Income taxes have been based on the following components of income before provision for income taxes (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
Domestic	$	478,819	$	460,637	$	361,283
Foreign	170,211		127,251		114,544
	$	649,030	$	587,888	$	475,827

The U.S. federal statutory rate is reconciled to the effective tax rate as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
U.S. federal statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State income taxes, net of state credits and federal tax impact	2.9	%	2.8	%	2.9	%
Impact of international operations	(4.1	)%	(3.6	)%	(3.7	)%
Non-deductible expenses	0.8	%	0.5	%	0.9	%
Federal production incentives and credits	(0.2	)%	(0.2	)%	(0.3	)%
Other, net	(0.5	)%	0.2	%	(0.3	)%
Effective tax rate	33.9	%	34.7	%	34.5	%

Undistributed earnings of the Company's foreign subsidiaries amounted to approximately $398 million at December 31, 2015. Those earnings are considered to be indefinitely reinvested, and accordingly no provision for U.S. income taxes has been provided thereon. Upon repatriation of those earnings, in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company would be subject to both U.S. income taxes (subject to adjustment for foreign tax credits) and potential withholding taxes payable to the various foreign countries. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred U.S. income tax liability is not practicable due to the complexities associated with its hypothetical calculation; however, unrecognized foreign tax credits would be available to reduce materially any U.S. liability.

The significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2015			2014
Deferred Tax Assets:
Inventory	$	27,184		$	33,452
Accrued expenses and reserves	46,837			40,349
Accounts receivable	13,971			12,894
Stock-based compensation	11,096			11,978
Qualified and nonqualified retirement plans	14,130			14,049
Net operating loss carryforwards	8,946			6,744
Tax credit carryforwards	3,189			4,424
Other	5,023			8,275
	130,376			132,165
Less valuation allowance	(3,880		)	(5,239		)
Total deferred tax assets	$	126,496		$	126,926
Deferred Tax Liabilities:
Goodwill and other intangible assets	$	141,442		$	121,728
Property and equipment	67,065			60,215
Trade name	36,532			43,325
Other	5,342			5,988
Total deferred tax liabilities	$	250,381		$	231,256
Net deferred tax liability	$	(123,885	)	$	(104,330	)

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are reflected on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2015		2014
Noncurrent deferred tax assets	$	3,354	$	2,608
Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities	127,239		106,938

Our deferred tax assets and liabilities are presented within Other Assets and Deferred Income Taxes, respectively, on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Refer to Recent Accounting Pronouncements in Note 2, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" for a summary of the retrospective adjustments made to current deferred tax balances as of December 31, 2014 under ASU 2015-17 to conform to the current year presentation.

We had net operating loss carryforwards for federal and certain of our state tax jurisdictions, the tax benefits of which total approximately $8.9 million and $6.7 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we had foreign, state, and local tax credit carryforwards of $3.2 million and $4.4 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, valuation allowances of $3.9 million and $5.2 million, respectively, were recorded for a portion of the deferred tax assets related to net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The $1.3 million net decrease in valuation allowances was primarily due to a $2.6 million decrease related to a reduction in foreign tax credit carryovers as a result of the favorable reassessment by the Canada Revenue Agency of certain prior period filings by our Specialty operations in Canada, and a $0.2 million decrease due to our judgment regarding the realization of other net operating losses. These decreases were partially offset by a $1.5 million increase attributable to acquired foreign, federal and state tax credits.

The net operating loss carryforwards expire over the period from 2016 through 2035. Foreign tax credit carryforwards expire over the period from 2016 through 2025, while the state and local tax credits primarily have no expiration. Realization of these deferred tax assets is dependent on the generation of sufficient taxable income prior to the expiration dates. Based on historical and projected operating results, we believe that it is more likely than not that earnings will be sufficient to realize the deferred tax assets for which valuation allowances have not been provided. While we expect to realize the deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances, changes in estimates of future taxable income or in tax laws may alter this expectation.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands):



	2015			2014			2013
Balance at January 1	$	2,630		$	1,445		$	1,693
Additions for acquired tax positions	80			2,322			—
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	302			302			302
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(743		)	—			—
Lapse of statutes of limitations	(119		)	(134		)	(550		)
Settlements with taxing authorities	—			(1,182		)	—
Currency exchange rate fluctuations	123			(123		)	—
Balance at December 31	$	2,273		$	2,630		$	1,445

Included in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits above as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are $1.5 million, $1.9 million and $0.9 million, respectively, of tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate. The balance of unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 also includes $0.8 million, $0.7 million, and $0.5 million respectively, of tax benefits that, if recognized, would result in adjustments to deferred taxes.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. Attributable to the unrecognized tax benefits noted above, at December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had accumulated interest and penalties of $0.8 million and $0.7 million respectively. During each of the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, $0.1 million, $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively, of interest and penalties were recorded through the income tax provision, prior to any reversals for lapses in the statutes of limitations.

During the twelve months beginning January 1, 2016, it is reasonably possible that we will reduce unrecognized tax benefits by up to approximately $0.1 million, all of which would impact our effective tax rate, primarily as a result of the expiration of certain statutes of limitations.

During 2015, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service completed examinations of the Company’s Federal consolidated tax returns for the years 2011 to 2013, without material adjustment. In the U.K., with limited exception, tax years through 2010 are no longer subject to inquiry. Certain Canadian operations are under examination for the years 2010 to 2012. In the Netherlands, tax years through 2012 have been assessed. Tax years from 2011 are subject to income tax examinations by various U.S. state and local jurisdictions. Adjustments from such examinations, if any, are not expected to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.