(H) Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes includes the following components:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2017			2016			2015
	(dollars in thousands)
Current Provision (Benefit) -
Federal	$	86,459		$	64,256		$	62,424
State		7,638			4,727			(2,155	)
		94,097			68,983			60,269
Deferred Provision (Benefit) -
Federal		7,274			(546	)		(962	)
State		(5,071	)		(1,777	)		6,767
		2,203			(2,323	)		5,805
Provision for Income Taxes	$	96,300		$	66,660		$	66,074

The effective tax rates vary from the federal statutory rates due to the following items:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2017			2016			2015
	(dollars in thousands)
Earnings Before Income Taxes	$	294,519		$	219,252		$	252,927
Income Taxes at Statutory Rate	$	103,082		$	76,738		$	88,524
Increases (Decreases) in Tax Resulting from -
State Income Taxes, net		1,668			1,166			4,582
Statutory Depletion in Excess of Cost		(1,216	)		(5,672	)		(4,367	)
Domestic Production Activities Deduction		(7,615	)		(6,302	)		(6,853	)
Meals and Entertainment Disallowance		626			629			647
IRS Settlement		—			—			(16,559	)
Other		(245	)		101			100
Provision for Income Taxes	$	96,300		$	66,660		$	66,074
Effective Tax Rate		33	%		30	%		26	%

Components of deferred income taxes are as follows:

	March 31,
	2017			2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Items Giving Rise to Deferred Tax Liabilities -
Excess Tax Depreciation and Amortization	$	(161,204	)	$	(157,260	)
Depletion		(18,638	)		(21,911	)
Repair Parts		(1,747	)		(2,446	)
State Income Taxes, net		(8,883	)		(12,552	)
Other		(8,515	)		(4,147	)
Total Deferred Tax Liabilities	$	(198,987	)	$	(198,316	)
Items Giving Rise to Deferred Tax Assets -
Accrual Changes	$	12,992		$	11,855
Bad Debts		3,895			3,604
Uniform Capitalization		2,989			2,174
Deferred Revenue		—			700
Long-term Incentive Compensation Plan		8,691			11,458
Pension and Other		4,396			6,846
Total Deferred Tax Assets	$	32,963		$	36,637

Uncertain tax position –

We are subject to audit examinations at federal, state and local levels by tax authorities in those jurisdictions who may challenge the treatment or reporting of any return item. The tax matters challenged by the tax authorities are typically complex; therefore, the ultimate outcome of these challenges is subject to uncertainty.

Reconciliation of the consolidated liability for gross unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest, from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2017, is as follows:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2017		2016		2015
	(dollars in thousands)
Balance at Beginning of Year	$	—	$	—	$	24,802
Increase related to prior tax positions		—		—		—
Decrease related to prior tax positions		—		—		(24,802	)
Payments		—		—		—
	$	—	$	—	$	—

We recognize penalties associated with uncertain tax positions as part of the tax provision, while interest associated with uncertain tax positions is included in interest expense. The following is a summary of the amounts of interest and penalties recognized in relation to our uncertain tax position:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2017		2016		2015
	(dollars in thousands)
Accrued interest recognized	$	—	$	—	$	(3,847	)
Accrued penalties recognized	$	—	$	—	$	(6,475	)

There was no accrued interest or penalties related to our uncertain tax position during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

In May 2011, we filed a lawsuit against the IRS in Federal District Court to recover all of the amounts paid to the IRS with respect to our uncertain tax position for 2001 to 2006. We reached an agreement with the IRS to settle this case, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2015. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, we dismissed our lawsuit seeking to recover taxes, interest and penalties paid, in exchange for the IRS conceding 40% of the penalties, plus related interest, to date. The impact from the settlement agreement was approximately $17 million, including state benefits, which was recorded as a reduction of income tax expense during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. The related interest refund of approximately $4.4 million was also recorded during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.