NOTE 4.

INCOME TAXES

Income before provision for income taxes consisted of the following:


(in thousands)	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
U.S.	$	76,848		$	71,678		$	72,555
Foreign		(287	)		(304	)		312

	$	76,561		$	71,374		$	72,867

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following:


(in thousands)	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Current:
U.S. Federal	$	7,494		$	1,188		$	1,634
State		2,139			1,803			653
Foreign		1,572			2,217			2,599

		11,205			5,208			4,886

Deferred:
U.S. Federal		17,986			21,067			20,952
State		1,927			1,818			2,252
Foreign		(266	)		(116	)		—

		19,647			22,769			23,204

Total	$	30,852		$	27,977		$	28,090

The reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
U.S. federal statutory rate		35.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%
State taxes, net of federal benefit		4.1			4.1			4.2
Other		1.2			0.1			(0.6	)

		40.3	%		39.2	%		38.6	%

The following table shows the deferred income taxes related to the temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and the respective amounts included in “Deferred income taxes, net” on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets:


(in thousands)	December 31,
	2014		2013
Deferred tax liabilities:
Accelerated depreciation	$	272,496	$	257,537
Prepaid costs currently deductible		6,358		4,794
Other		4,404		3,242

Total deferred tax liabilities		283,258		265,573

Deferred tax assets:
Accrued costs not yet deductible		7,463		6,638
Allowance for doubtful accounts		788		775
Net operating loss carry forwards and credits		302		2,736
Deferred revenues		1,132		305
Share-based compensation		4,671		5,862

Total deferred tax assets		14,356		16,316

Deferred income taxes, net	$	268,902	$	249,257

In 2014, 2013 and 2012 the Company obtained an excess tax benefit of $1.8 million, $1.3 million and $1.0 million, respectively, from the exercise of non-qualified stock options and early dispositions of stock obtained through the exercise of incentive stock options by employees. The tax benefit was recorded as common stock in conjunction with the proceeds received from the exercise of the stock options.

A deferred U.S. tax liability has not been provided on the undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries because it is the Company’s intent to permanently reinvest such earnings. Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries, which have been or are intended to be permanently reinvested, aggregated approximately $1.6 million and $1.2 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. As of December 31, 2014, the Company’s foreign net operating losses for tax purposes were $1.0 million. If not utilized, these carry forwards will begin to expire in 2022. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had state and foreign tax credit carry forwards of $2.6 million, which were fully utilized during 2014.

The Company recognizes the financial statement benefit of a tax position only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than not sustain the position following an audit. For tax positions meeting the more-likely-than-not threshold, the amount recognized in the financial statements is the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. The Company evaluated all of its tax positions for which the statute of limitations remained open and determined there were no material unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. In addition, there have been no material changes in unrecognized benefits during 2014, 2013 and 2012.

The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various states and foreign jurisdictions. Tax regulations within each jurisdiction are subject to interpretation of the related tax laws and regulations and require the application of significant judgment. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for the years before 2010.

Our income tax returns are subject to examination by federal, state and foreign tax authorities. There may be differing interpretations of tax laws and regulations, and as a result, disputes may arise with these tax authorities involving the timing and amount of deductions and allocation of income.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income taxes for all periods presented. Such interest and penalties were not significant for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012.