INCOME TAXES

Income tax expense consists of the following:



(Thousands of Dollars)	2016	2015		2014

Current:
Federal	1,241	720		451
State	379	(92	)	(571	)
Deferred	20,556	12,966		6,410
	22,176	13,594		6,290

Income tax expense differs from the amounts computed by applying the U.S. federal income tax rate to income before income taxes. The reasons for these differences are as follows:



(Percent of Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes)	2016		2015		2014

Computed “expected” income tax expense (benefit)	35.0		35.0		35.0
State income tax expense (benefit), net of federal tax impact	3.8		(7.1	)	11.0
Net income of associated companies taxed at dividend rates	(2.6	)	(5.2	)	(9.3	)
Resolution of tax matters	3.2		0.5		3.6
Non-deductible expenses	1.0		2.8		7.9
Valuation allowance	(7.7	)	15.9		(4.5	)
Warrant valuation	5.0		(6.1	)	(15.1	)
CODI tax attribute reduction	—		—		18.3
Other	0.4		0.1		(1.8	)
	38.1		35.9		45.1

Net deferred income tax liabilities consist of the following components:



(Thousands of Dollars)	September 25 2016		September 27 2015

Deferred income tax liabilities:
Property and equipment	(33,549	)	(35,593	)
Identified intangible assets	(43,745	)	(51,380	)
Long-term debt	(16,158	)	(15,176	)
	(93,452	)	(102,149	)
Deferred income tax assets:
Investments	12,138		17,521
Accrued compensation	6,391		4,551
Allowance for doubtful accounts and losses on loans	1,273		1,184
Pension and postretirement benefits	6,505		5,719
Net operating loss carryforwards	52,604		81,228
Accrued expenses	577		572
Other	3,634		1,720
	83,122		112,495
Valuation allowance	(27,978	)	(32,483	)
Net deferred income tax liabilities	(38,308	)	(22,137	)

All deferred taxes are categorized as non-current because the Company elected to early adopt ASU 2015-17. See Note 16, Impact of Recently Adopted Accounting Standards.

A reconciliation of 2016 and 2015 changes in gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:



(Thousands of Dollars)	2016		2015

Balance, beginning of year	11,799		13,520
Increases (decreases) in tax positions for prior years	46		(1,861	)
Increases in tax positions for the current year	1,600		1,098
Lapse in statute of limitations	(914	)	(958	)
Balance, end of year	12,531		11,799

Approximately $8,025,000 and $7,475,000 of the gross unrecognized tax benefit balances for 2016 and 2015 respectively, relate to state net operating losses which are netted against deferred taxes on our balance sheet. The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate was $8,213,000 at September 25, 2016. We recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. The amount of accrued interest related to unrecognized tax benefits was, net of tax, $317,000 at September 25, 2016 and $330,000 at September 27, 2015. There were no amounts provided for penalties at September 25, 2016 or September 27, 2015.

No significant income tax audits are currently in progress and the Company has not received any notices of intent to audit. Certain of the Company's state income tax returns for the year ended September 30, 2012 are open for examination. The Federal and remaining state returns are open beginning with the September 29, 2013 year.

At September 25, 2016, we had approximately $57,392,000 of state net operating loss ("NOL") tax benefits that expire between 2017 and 2036. At September 25, 2016 and September 27, 2015 the Company had deferred income tax assets related to state NOL carryforwards of $37,305,000 and $34,623,000, respectively, a portion of which are offset by a valuation allowances. In 2016, the Company reduced its state valuation allowance by $3,655,000 based on projected future earnings in the carryforward periods. In 2015, the Company recorded an additional valuation allowance of $6,043,000 due to increases in cumulative losses and other deferred tax assets not realizable within their carryforward periods.

We reported a Federal NOL of approximately $165,489,000 for our 2014 year. We reported taxable income on our 2015 tax return which reduced the Federal NOL to $136,630,000. We expect to record taxable income in 2016 which will further reduce the Federal NOL to $58,618,000 resulting in a deferred income tax asset balance of $20,615,000 at September 25, 2016. A valuation allowance is not required for the Federal NOL at September 25, 2016 based on our projection of future earnings during the carryforward period.