Income Taxes

Federated files a consolidated federal income tax return. Financial statement tax expense is determined under the liability method.

Income Tax Provision consisted of the following expense/(benefit) components for the years ended December 31:



(in thousands)	2018			2017			2016
Current:
Federal	$	54,447		$	106,710		$	93,538
State	7,359			9,446			8,121
Foreign	(188		)	217			265
Total Current	61,618			116,373			101,924
Deferred:
Federal	7,616			(59,517		)	17,057
State	1,750			638			597
Foreign	2,891			(393		)	(158		)
Total Deferred	12,257			(59,272		)	17,496
Total	$	73,875		$	57,101		$	119,420

The reconciliation between the statutory income tax rate and the effective tax rate consisted of the following for the years ended December 31:



	2018		2017		2016
Expected Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate	21.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
Increase/(Decrease):
State and Local Income Taxes, net of Federal Benefit	2.4		1.9		1.7
Non-Deductible Executive Compensation	1.1		0.0		0.0
Federal Rate Adjustment to Deferred Taxes¹	0.0		(20.2	)	0.0
Other	0.4		(0.5	)	(1.7	)
Effective Tax Rate	24.9	%	16.2	%	35.0	%


1	Represents the impact of revaluing the net deferred tax liability due to the enactment of the Tax Act, and includes the federal tax benefit of any state and local deferred taxes.

The effective tax rate for December 31, 2018 increased to 24.9% as compared to 2017's rate of 16.2% primarily due to the 2017 recording of a $70.4 million reduction in Federated's net deferred tax liability due to the Tax Act, partially offset by the reduction of the federal statutory income tax rate to a flat 21.0% effective January 1, 2018. The effective tax rate for December 31, 2017 was lower than the rate for December 31, 2016 primarily due to the aforementioned impact due to the Tax Act.

The tax effects of temporary differences that gave rise to significant portions of deferred tax assets and liabilities consisted of the following at December 31:



(in thousands)	2018			2017
Deferred Tax Assets
Tax Net Operating Loss Carryforwards	$	74,213		$	48,722
Compensation Related	12,514			7,212
Other	2,553			2,564
Total Deferred Tax Assets	89,280			58,498
Valuation Allowance	(56,925		)	(47,955		)
Total Deferred Tax Asset, net of Valuation Allowance	$	32,355		$	10,543
Deferred Tax Liabilities
Intangible Assets	$	174,812		$	119,885
Property and Equipment	4,646			5,601
Other	1,061			1,926
Total Gross Deferred Tax Liability	$	180,519		$	127,412
Net Deferred Tax Liability	$	148,164		$	116,869

Long-Term Deferred Tax Liability, net at December 31, 2018 increased $30.5 million from December 31, 2017 primarily due to an increase in intangible assets acquired in connection with the Hermes Acquisition.

As a result of the revaluation of the net deferred tax liability due to the enactment of the Tax Act, Federated's 2017 results include a $70.4 million reduction to the income tax provision. The Tax Act's international provisions regarding GILTI and the Base Erosion Anti-Avoidance Tax (BEAT) did not have a material impact on Federated's financial statements. The accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act is complete and there were no material adjustments.

At December 31, 2018, Federated had deferred tax assets related to state and foreign tax net operating loss carryforwards in certain taxing jurisdictions in the aggregate of $74.2 million, of which the state net operating losses will expire through 2038. Most foreign net operating losses have no expiration period. A valuation allowance has been recognized for $49.1 million (or 100%) of the deferred tax asset for state tax net operating losses, and for $7.8 million (or 31%) of the deferred tax asset for foreign tax net operating losses. The valuation allowances were recorded due to management's belief that it is more likely than not that Federated will not realize the full benefit of these net operating losses. For the deferred tax asset, net of valuation allowance related to foreign net operating losses, management believes that it is more likely than not that it will realize the benefit of these net operating losses based on projections of future taxable income for the entity to which these relate. Federated's remaining deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2018 primarily related to compensation-related expenses that have been recognized for book purposes but are not yet deductible for tax purposes. Management believes that it is more likely than not that Federated will receive the full benefit of these deferred tax assets due to the expectation that Federated will generate taxable income well in excess of these amounts in the years they become deductible.

At December 31, 2017, Federated had deferred tax assets related to state and foreign tax net operating loss carryforwards in certain taxing jurisdictions in the aggregate of $48.7 million, of which the state net operating losses will expire through 2037. Most foreign net operating losses have no expiration period. A valuation allowance has been recognized for $46.4 million (or 100%) of the deferred tax asset for state tax net operating losses, and for $1.6 million (or 68%) of the deferred tax asset for foreign tax net operating losses. The valuation allowances were recorded due to management's belief that it is more likely than not that Federated will not realize the full benefit of these net operating losses.

Federated and its subsidiaries file annual income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, various U.S. state and local jurisdictions, and in certain foreign jurisdictions. Based upon its review of these filings, there were no material unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2018 or 2017. Therefore, there were no material changes during 2018, and no reasonable possibility of a significant increase or decrease in unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve months.