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Income taxes (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |
Schedule Of Statutory Tax Rates | Statutory tax rates in the countries in which the Company operates for fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016 were as follows:
|  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2016
Puerto Rico |  | 20% |  | 20% |  | 20%
Martinique, French Guyana, Guadeloupe |  | 33% |  | 35% |  | 35%
St Croix, St. Thomas |  | 23% |  | 35% |  | 35%
Aruba |  | 25% |  | 35% |  | 35%
Curacao |  | 22% |  | 35% |  | 35%
Argentina |  | 30% |  | 35% |  | 35%
Brazil and Venezuela |  | 34% |  | 34% |  | 34%
Colombia |  | 37% |  | 40% |  | 40%
Peru |  | 30% |  | 30% |  | 28%
Costa Rica and Mexico |  | 30% |  | 30% |  | 30%
Panamá, Uruguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Netherlands |  | 25% |  | 25% |  | 25%
Ecuador |  | 28% |  | 25% |  | 25%
Chile |  | 27% |  | 26% |  | 24%
Schedule Of Components Of Income Tax Expense | Income tax expense for fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016 consisted of the following:
|  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2016
Current income tax expense |  | $ | 47,488 |  |  | $ | 51,215 |  |  | $ | 54,142 |
Deferred income tax expense |  | 648 |  |  | 2,099 |  |  | 5,499 |
Income tax expense |  | $ | 48,136 |  |  | $ | 53,314 |  |  | $ | 59,641 |
Schedule Of Components Of Income Tax Expense By Applying Weighted-Average Statutory Income Tax Rate | Income tax expense for fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016 differed from the amounts computed by applying the Company’s weighted-average statutory income tax rate to pre-tax income as a result of the following:
|  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2016
Pre-tax income |  | $ | 85,169 |  |  | $ | 182,813 |  |  | $ | 138,629 |
Weighted-average statutory income tax rate (i) |  | 42.7 | % |  | 35.5 | % |  | 35.4 | %
Income tax expense at weighted-average statutory tax rate on pre-tax income |  | 36,354 |  |  | 64,901 |  |  | 49,030 |
Permanent differences: |  |  |  |  |  |
Change in valuation allowance (ii) |  | (24,307 | ) |  | (21,241 | ) |  | (19,217 | )
Expiration and changes in tax loss carryforwards (iii) |  | 18,599 |  |  | 12,785 |  |  | 18,234 |
Venezuelan remeasurement and inflationary impacts (iv) |  | 16,857 |  |  | 2,683 |  |  | 4,368 |
Non-taxable income and non-deductible expenses |  | 8,406 |  |  | 10,157 |  |  | 12,915 |
Tax benefits, including Brazil and other |  | (11,403 | ) |  | (10,744 | ) |  | (14,437 | )
Income taxes withholdings on intercompany transactions (v) |  | 7,723 |  |  | 6,804 |  |  | 22,379 |
Differences including exchange rate, inflation adjustment and filing differences |  | (2,815 | ) |  | (11,909 | ) |  | (13,002 | )
Alternative Taxes |  | (1,283 | ) |  | 156 |  |  | (114 | )
Others |  | 5 |  |  | (278 | ) |  | (515 | )
Income tax expense |  | $ | 48,136 |  |  | $ | 53,314 |  |  | $ | 59,641 |
(i) | Weighted-average statutory income tax rate is calculated based on the aggregated amount of the income before taxes by country multiplied by the prevailing statutory income tax rate, divided by the consolidated income before taxes.
(ii) | Comprises net changes in valuation allowances for the year, mainly related to Non-Operating Losses (NOLs).
(iii) | Expiration of loss tax carryforwards are mainly generated by Holding legal entities and the Caribbean division.
(iv) | Comprises changes in valuation allowance during 2018, 2017 and 2016 for $304, $2,108 and $2,180, respectively.
(v) | Comprises income tax withheld on the payment of interest on intercompany loans. In 2016 this item also includes the withholding income tax of $18.2 million due the repayment of the Company’s 2016 Notes
Schedule Of Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities | The tax effects of temporary differences and carryforwards that comprise significant portions of deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2018 and 2017 are presented below:
|  | 2018 |  | 2017
Tax loss carryforwards (i) |  | $ | 178,993 |  |  | $ | 238,082 |
Purchase price allocation adjustment |  | 17,006 |  |  | 24,437 |
Property and equipment, tax inflation |  | 38,588 |  |  | 37,577 |
Other accrued payroll and other liabilities |  | 30,300 |  |  | 30,730 |
Share-based compensation |  | 2,591 |  |  | 3,850 |
Provision for contingencies |  | 2,708 |  |  | 2,478 |
Other deferred tax assets (ii) |  | 26,193 |  |  | 21,528 |
Other deferred tax liabilities (iii) |  | (7,979 | ) |  | (10,670 | )
Property and equipment - difference in depreciation rates |  | (11,103 | ) |  | (12,639 | )
Valuation allowance (iv) |  | (219,920 | ) |  | (271,651 | )
Net deferred tax asset |  | $ | 57,377 |  |  | $ | 63,722 |
(i) | As of December 31, 2018, the Company and its subsidiaries has accumulated operating tax loss carryforwards amounting to $649,312. The Company has operating tax loss carryforwards amounting to $151,343, expiring between 2019 and 2023. In addition, the Company has operating tax loss carryforwards amounting to $211,043 expiring after 2023 and operating tax loss carryforwards amounting to $286,926 that do no expire. Changes in tax loss carryforwards for the year relate to the use of NOLs, mainly in Brazil, Colombia and Chile, and the expiration of tax loss carryforwards in other markets.
(ii) | Other deferred tax assets reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets for financial reporting purposes (accounting base) and the amounts used for income tax purposes (tax base). For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, this item includes: bad debt reserve in Puerto Rico for $4,967, provision for regular expenses for $10,458, mainly corresponding to Brazil, Mexico and Colombia; and foreign currency exchange differences in Argentina and Brazil for $4,736. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 this item includes regular expenses provisions for $9,824, for Brazil, Mexico and Colombia; $698 related to foreign currency exchange differences in Venezuela and $3,782 in Puerto Rico, related to bad debt reserve.
(iii) | Primarily related to intangible assets and accelerated depreciation of fixed assets.
(iv) | In assessing the realization of deferred income tax assets, the Company considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized.

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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32639-109319 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the components of net deferred tax asset or liability recognized in an entity's statement of financial position, including the following: the total of all deferred tax liabilities, the total of all deferred tax assets, the total valuation allowance recognized for deferred tax assets. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32537-109319 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32687-109319 + Details
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