Income Taxes

The Company files a consolidated Federal income tax return. The provision (benefit) for income taxes from continuing operations consists of the following at March 31st (in thousands):



	2016			2015			2014
Current:
Federal	$	437		$	—		$	(160	)
State	(1,023		)	88			11
Foreign	223			50			451
Total current provision (benefit)	(363		)	138			302
Deferred:
Federal	(28,085		)	(13,907		)	24,252
State	(7,560		)	(1,894		)	6,138
Foreign	26			(26		)	(33		)
Total deferred provision (benefit)	(35,619		)	(15,827		)	30,357
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	(35,982	)	$	(15,689	)	$	30,659

Income tax provision (benefit) attributable to income from continuing operations was $(36.0) million, $(15.7) million and $30.7 million for fiscal 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and differed from the amounts computed by applying the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate of 35% to pretax income from continuing operations as a result of the following at March 31st (in thousands):



	2016			2015			2014
U.S expected tax (benefit) provision	$	(6,295	)	$	(19,926	)	$	(9,209	)
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	(1,923		)	(1,504		)	(755		)
Meals and entertainment	279			270			271
Goodwill impairment	—			1,237			—
Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets	(27,139		)	2,555			40,260
Debt restructuring	—			1,277			—
Other, net	(904		)	402			92
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	(35,982	)	$	(15,689	)	$	30,659

The tax effected net deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprised of the following at March 31st (in thousands):



	2016			2015
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	35,257		$	38,215
Reserves and accruals	3,134			—
Deferred financing costs	75			273
Goodwill and other intangibles	817			980
Other	14,336			4,745
Gross deferred income tax assets	53,619			44,213
Valuation allowance	—			(23,401		)
Total deferred tax assets	53,619			20,812
Deferred tax liabilities:
Goodwill and other intangibles	(78,558		)	(82,670		)
Circulation expenses	(2,324		)	(2,617		)
Property and equipment	(2,480		)	(3,580		)
Other	(3,669		)	(2,692		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(87,031		)	(91,559		)
Net deferred tax liability	$	(33,412	)	$	(70,747	)

The March 31, 2016 balances reflect the prospective application of newly adopted accounting guidance requiring deferred tax assets and liabilities to be classified as non-current in the consolidated balance sheet. Accordingly, on October 1, 2015, we reclassified $5.4 million of net current deferred tax assets. There were no current deferred tax liabilities to be reclassified. This guidance was not retrospectively applied to the March 31, 2015 balances. As a result, the Company had current deferred tax assets of approximately $1.7 million included in prepaid expenses and other current assets as of March 31, 2015.

At March 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had gross U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryforwards as follows (in thousands):



	2016		2015
Federal	$	89,179	$	96,628
State	83,089		88,399

The federal net operating loss carryforwards at March 31, 2016 begin to expire in 2030 through 2036. The state net operating loss carryforwards at March 31, 2016 begin to expire in 2016 through 2036. In August 2014, as a result of the Merger, a change of control has occurred. Accordingly, management assessed the impact of the Merger for limitations under section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC"). Since the Company was in a net unrealized built-in gain position the Company's annual IRC section 382 limitation will likely increase over the next five years resulting in realized built-in gains. No loss of the net operating loss utilization should result from the Merger.

The asset and liability method of accounting for deferred income taxes requires a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company's valuation allowance related to its deferred tax assets, which was $27.1 million at March 31, 2015, was released during the first quarter of fiscal 2016 based on the weight of positive evidence that the deferred tax assets will be realized due to the reclassification of certain tradenames from indefinite-lived to finite-lived, effective April 1, 2015. In the past, the Company's deferred tax liabilities related to indefinite-lived intangible assets were not considered a future source of income to support the realization of deferred tax assets within the net operating loss carryforward period.

As of March 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company's accrued liabilities for uncertain tax positions related to federal and state income taxes, including interest and penalties, amounted to $0.2 million and $1.3 million, respectively, and are reflected in other non-current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits as of March 31, 2016 and 2015 was $0.2 million and $0.7 million, respectively. Approximately $0.2 million of this amount would, if recognized, have an effect on the effective income tax rate. In addition to the unrecognized tax benefits, the Company recognized $0.4 million of interest benefit and $0.1 million penalty benefit for fiscal 2016 and had accrued interest and penalties of $0.1 million as of March 31, 2016.

A reconciliation of the change in the unrecognized tax benefits from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016 is as follows (in thousands):



Balance, April 1, 2014	$	693
Increases for tax positions taken during a prior period	—
Decreases for tax positions taken during a prior period	—
Lapse of statute of limitations	—
Balance, March 31, 2015	$	693
Decreases for tax positions taken during a prior period	(525		)
Balance, March 31, 2016	$	168

The Company has identified its “major” tax jurisdictions to include the U.S. government and the states of California, Florida and New York. The Company's fiscal 2013 through 2015 federal tax returns remain open by statute. The Company's major state tax jurisdictions subject to examination are fiscal 2012 through 2015.