19. Income taxes

Total income tax expense (recovery) consists of:



	December 31, 2018			December 31, 2017

Current tax expense	$	32,341		$	39,232
Deferred tax recovery	(118,839		)	(19,849		)
	$	(86,498	)	$	19,383

Total income tax expense (recovery) attributable to each geographical jurisdiction for the Company is as follows:



	2018			2017

Turkey	$	45,238		$	30,139
Greece	(129,213		)	(4,598		)
Brazil	3,608			(1,087		)
Canada	(3,415		)	2,960
Romania	(2,716		)	(8,026		)
Other jurisdictions	—			(5		)
	$	(86,498	)	$	19,383

The key factors affecting income tax expense (recovery) for the years are as follows:



	2018			2017

Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income tax	$	(466,129	)	$	792
Canadian statutory tax rate	27		%	26		%
Tax expense (recovery) on net income at Canadian statutory tax rate	$	(125,855	)	$	206

Items that cause an increase (decrease) in income tax expense:
Foreign income subject to different income tax rates than Canada	(17,498		)	(11,792		)
Reduction in Greek income tax rate	(24,968		)	—
Non-tax effected operating losses	12,716			9,691
Non-deductible expenses and other items	14,923			10,002
Foreign exchange and other translation adjustments	36,837			6,289
Future and current withholding tax on foreign income dividends	20,000			5,297
Other	(2,653		)	(310		)
Income tax expense (recovery)	$	(86,498	)	$	19,383

19. Income taxes (continued)

The change in the Company’s net deferred tax position was as follows:



	2018			2017
Net deferred tax asset (liability)
Balance at January 1,	$	(549,127	)	$	(443,501	)
Deferred income tax liability related to Integra acquisition	—			(126,903		)
Deferred income tax recovery in the income statement	118,839			19,849
Deferred tax recovery in other comprehensive loss	359			1,428
Net balance at December 31,	$	(429,929	)	$	(549,127	)

The composition of the Company’s net deferred income tax asset and liability and deferred tax expense is as follows:



Type of temporary difference	Deferred tax assets				Deferred tax liabilities				Expense (recovery)
	2018		2017		2018		2017		2018			2017

Property, plant and equipment	$	—	$	—	$	483,561	$	592,062	$	(108,501	)	$	(33,466	)
Loss carryforwards	37,245		31,457		—		—		(5,788		)	(4,641		)
Liabilities	27,321		24,690		—		—		(2,631		)	(80		)
Future withholding taxes	—		—		20,000		—		20,000			—
Other items	19,477		1,997		10,411		15,208		(21,919		)	18,338
Balance at December 31,	$	84,043	$	58,144	$	513,972	$	607,270	$	(118,839	)	$	(19,849	)



Unrecognized deferred tax assets	2018		2017

Tax losses	$	160,052	$	167,030
Other deductible temporary differences	11,967		11,253
Total unrecognized deferred tax assets	$	172,019	$	178,283

Unrecognized tax losses

At December 31, 2018 the Company had losses with a tax benefit of $160,052 (2017 – $167,030) which are not recognized as deferred tax assets. The Company recognizes the benefit of tax losses only to the extent of anticipated future taxable income that can be reduced by the tax losses.

19. Income taxes (continued)

The gross amount of the tax losses for which a tax benefit has not been recorded expire in future years as follows:



Expiry date	Canada		Brazil		Greece		Total

2019	$	—	$	—	$	14,964	$	14,964
2020	—		—		25,221		25,221
2021	—		—		10,451		10,451
2022	—		—		8,007		8,007
2023	—		—		10,337		10,337
2025	7,894		—		—		7,894
2026	14,966		—		—		14,966
2027	10,638		—		—		10,638
2028	25,971		—		—		25,971
2029	23,444		—		—		23,444
2030	7,282		—		—		7,282
2031	45,351		—		—		45,351
2032	74,855		—		—		74,855
2033	64,883		—		—		64,883
2034	58,689		—		—		58,689
2035	55,266		—		—		55,266
2036	50,503		—		—		50,503
2037	27,333		—		—		27,333
2038	9,025		—		—		9,025
No Expiry	—		32,407		—		32,407
	$	476,100	$	32,407	$	68,980	$	577,487
Capital losses with no expiry	64,837		—		—		64,837
Tax effect of total losses not recognized	$	137,268	$	5,538	$	17,246	$	160,052

Deductible temporary differences

At December 31, 2018 the Company had deductible temporary differences for which deferred tax assets of $11,967 (2017 – $11,253) have not been recognized because it is not probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the Company can utilize the benefits. The vast majority of these temporary benefits have no expiry date.

Temporary differences associated with investments in subsidiaries

The Company has not recognized deferred tax liabilities in respect of historical unremitted earnings of foreign subsidiaries for which we are able to control the timing of the remittance and are considered reinvested for the foreseeable future. At December 31, 2018, these earnings amount to $546,403 (2017 – $788,137). Substantially all of these earnings would be subject to withholding taxes if they were remitted by the foreign subsidiaries.

19. Income taxes (continued)

Other factors affecting taxation

During 2018 the Turkish Lira weakened, resulting in a deferred income tax expense during the year of $24,595 due to the decrease in the value of the future tax deductions associated with the Turkish operations. The Company expects that in the future significant foreign exchange movements in the Turkish Lira, Euro or Brazilian Real in relation to the U.S. dollar could cause significant volatility in the deferred income tax expense or recovery.