Income taxes

The following table summarizes the components of the provision for income taxes from continuing operations:



	2016			2015			2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Current:
Federal	$	2,344		$	(4,700	)	$	12,348
State	5,230			2,377			1,912
Foreign	28,842			53,151			30,748
Deferred:
Federal	(25,784		)	(37,504		)	(6,593		)
State	(1,194		)	(3,258		)	3,435
Foreign	(1,364		)	(2,228		)	(13,200		)
	$	8,074		$	7,838		$	28,650

At December 31, 2016, the cumulative unremitted earnings of subsidiaries outside the United States that are considered non-permanently reinvested and for which U.S. taxes have been provided, approximated $471.2 million. At December 31, 2016, the cumulative unremitted earnings of subsidiaries outside the United States that are considered permanently reinvested and, accordingly, for which no income or withholding taxes have been provided, approximated $1,214.9 million. Earnings considered permanently reinvested are expected to be reinvested indefinitely and, as a result, no deferred tax liability has been recognized with regard to these earnings. It is not practical to determine the deferred income tax liability on these earnings if, in the future, they are remitted to the United States because the income tax liability to be incurred, if any, is dependent on circumstances existing when remittance occurs.

The following table summarizes the United States and non-United States components of income from continuing operations before taxes:



	2016			2015			2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
United States	$	(29,988	)	$	(19,550	)	$	(23,875	)
Other	275,713			264,196			243,985
	$	245,725		$	244,646		$	220,110

Reconciliations between the statutory federal income tax rate and the effective income tax rate are as follows:



	2016		2015		2014
Federal statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
Tax effect of international items	(27.5	)	(28.4	)	(22.6	)
State taxes, net of federal benefit	0.9		(0.7	)	2.1
Uncertain tax contingencies	(3.6	)	(1.9	)	(0.8	)
Contingent consideration reversals	(1.2	)	(0.7	)	(1.2	)
Other, net	(0.3	)	(0.1	)	0.5
	3.3	%	3.2	%	13.0	%

The effective income tax rate for 2016 was 3.3% compared to 3.2% for 2015. The effective income tax rate for 2016 was impacted by a tax benefit associated with U.S. federal tax return filings, a benefit resulting from the reduction of German tax reserves as a result of the conclusion of an audit, a benefit resulting from the expiration of various statutes of limitation and a benefit associated with the Semprus IPR&D asset impairment.

The effective income tax rate for 2015 was impacted by a tax benefit associated with U.S. federal tax return filings, a benefit associated with legislative tax rate changes, a benefit resulting from a reduction in the Company's U.S. reserves as a result of the conclusion of an audit and a benefit associated with a reduction in the estimated deferred tax with respect to non-permanently reinvested income due to an increase in the estimated foreign tax credits available to reduce the U.S. tax on a future repatriation.

The Company and its subsidiaries are routinely subject to examinations by various taxing authorities. In conjunction with these examinations and as a regular practice, the Company establishes and adjusts reserves with respect to its uncertain tax positions to address developments related to those positions. The Company realized a net benefit of approximately $8.8 million in 2016 as a result of reducing its reserves with respect to uncertain tax positions, principally due to the conclusion of a tax audit in Germany and the expiration of various statutes of limitations. The Company realized a net benefit of approximately $4.6 million in 2015, which resulted from a reduction in the Company's U.S. reserves due to the conclusion of a tax audit, offset by an increase in the Company's foreign reserves with respect to developments in the tax audit in Germany discussed above. The Company realized a net benefit of approximately $1.8 million in 2014, which resulted from the expiration of a number of applicable statutes of limitations.

The following table summarizes significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2016 and 2015:



	2016			2015
	(Dollars in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Tax loss and credit carryforwards	$	136,046		$	123,328
Pension	46,563			57,610
Reserves and accruals	52,343			47,755
Other	17,704			34,568
Less: valuation allowances	(104,520		)	(103,475		)
Total deferred tax assets	148,136			159,786
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	32,209			33,824
Intangibles — stock acquisitions	321,707			361,132
Unremitted foreign earnings	63,419			78,019
Other	466			453
Total deferred tax liabilities	417,801			473,428
Net deferred tax liability	$	(269,665	)	$	(313,642	)

Under the tax laws of various jurisdictions in which the Company operates, deductions or credits that cannot be fully utilized for tax purposes during the current year may be carried forward, subject to statutory limitations, to reduce taxable income or taxes payable in a future tax year. At December 31, 2016, the tax effect of such carryforwards approximated $136.0 million. Of this amount, $11.0 million has no expiration date, $1.6 million expires after 2016 but before the end of 2021 and $123.4 million expires after 2021. A portion of these carryforwards consists of tax losses and credits obtained by the Company as a result of acquisitions; the utilization of these carryforwards are subject to an annual limitation imposed by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, which limits a company’s ability to deduct prior net operating losses following a more than 50 percent change in ownership. It is not expected that the Section 382 limitation will prevent the Company ultimately from utilizing the applicable loss carryforwards. The determination of state net operating loss carryforwards is dependent upon the United States subsidiaries’ taxable income or loss, the state’s proportion of each subsidiary's taxable net income and the application of state laws, which can change from year to year and impact the amount of such carryforward.

The valuation allowance for deferred tax assets of $104.5 million and $103.5 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, relates principally to the uncertainty of the Company’s ability to utilize certain deferred tax assets, primarily tax loss and credit carryforwards in various jurisdictions. The valuation allowance was calculated in accordance with applicable accounting standards, which require that a valuation allowance be established and maintained when it is “more likely than not” that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Uncertain Tax Positions: The following table is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for liabilities associated with unrecognized tax benefits for the twelve month periods ending December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014:



	2016			2015			2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance at January 1	$	34,381		$	51,084		$	55,771
Increase in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior years	—			2,077			—
Decrease in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior years	(13,083		)	(15,372		)	—
Unrecognized tax benefits related to the current year	705			647			910
Reductions in unrecognized tax benefits due to settlements	(2,121		)	—			(132		)
Reductions in unrecognized tax benefits due to lapse of applicable statute of limitations	(4,840		)	(2,337		)	(3,235		)
Increase (decrease) in unrecognized tax benefits due to foreign currency translation	12			(1,718		)	(2,230		)
Balance at December 31	$	15,054		$	34,381		$	51,084

The total liabilities associated with the unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate for continuing operations, were $10.4 million at December 31, 2016.

The Company accrues interest and penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense in the consolidated statements of income, and the corresponding liability is included in the consolidated balance sheets. The net interest expense (benefit) and penalties reflected in income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $0.2 million and $(0.5) million, respectively; for the year ended December 31, 2015 was $1.6 million and $(0.4) million, respectively; and for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $1.0 million and $(0.8) million, respectively. The corresponding liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets for interest and penalties at December 31, 2016 were $0.7 million and $2.7 million, respectively, and at December 31, 2015 were $6.5 million and $3.2 million, respectively.

The taxable years for which the applicable statute of limitations remains open by major tax jurisdictions are as follows:



	Beginning	Ending
United States	2010	2016
Canada	2005	2016
China	2011	2016
Czech Republic	2013	2016
France	2014	2016
Germany	2011	2016
India	2002	2016
Ireland	2012	2016
Italy	2011	2016
Malaysia	2012	2016
Singapore	2012	2016

The Company and its subsidiaries are routinely subject to income tax examinations by various taxing authorities. As of December 31, 2016, the most significant tax examination in process is in Canada. The date at which this examination may be concluded and the ultimate outcome of the examination is uncertain. As a result of the uncertain outcome of this ongoing examination, future examinations or the expiration of statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible that the related unrecognized tax benefits for tax positions taken could materially change from those recorded as liabilities at December 31, 2016. Due to the potential for resolution of certain examinations, and the expiration of various statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible that the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits may change within the next year by a range of zero to $6.5 million.