INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Components of Earnings Before Income Taxes

The components of our earnings before income taxes for the last three fiscal years consisted of:



($ in millions)	2015		2014		2013
U.S.	$	896	$	808	$	630
Non-U.S.	359		280		267
	$	1,255	$	1,088	$	897

The (Provision for) Benefit from Income Taxes

Our provision for income taxes for the last three fiscal years consists of:



($ in millions)		2015			2014			2013
Current	-U.S. Federal	$	(167	)	$	(224	)	$	(139	)
	-U.S. State	(40		)	(43		)	(17		)
	-Non-U.S.	(50		)	(47		)	(44		)
		(257		)	(314		)	(200		)

Deferred	-U.S. Federal	(131		)	(21		)	(68		)
	-U.S. State	(7		)	(5		)	(10		)
	-Non-U.S.	(1		)	5			7
		(139		)	(21		)	(71		)
		$	(396	)	$	(335	)	$	(271	)

Unrecognized Tax Benefits Reconciliation

The following table reconciles our unrecognized tax benefit balance for each year from the beginning of 2013 to the end of 2015:



($ in millions)	Amount
Unrecognized tax benefit at beginning of 2013	$	29
Change attributable to tax positions taken during the current period	8
Decrease attributable to settlements with taxing authorities	(2		)
Decrease attributable to lapse of statute of limitations	(1		)
Unrecognized tax benefit at year-end 2013	34
Change attributable to tax positions taken during the current period	3
Decrease attributable to settlements with taxing authorities	(27		)
Decrease attributable to lapse of statute of limitations	—
Unrecognized tax benefit at year-end 2014	10
Change attributable to tax positions taken during the current period	15
Decrease attributable to settlements with taxing authorities	—
Decrease attributable to lapse of statute of limitations	(1		)
Unrecognized tax benefit at year-end 2015	$	24

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

We had the following total deferred tax assets and liabilities at year-end 2015 and year-end 2014:



($ in millions)	At Year-End 2015			At Year-End 2014
Deferred tax assets	$	672		$	819
Deferred tax liabilities	(16		)	(16		)
Net deferred taxes	$	656		$	803

The following table presents the tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carry-forward that gave rise to a significant portion of our deferred tax assets and liabilities as of year-end 2015 and year-end 2014:



($ in millions)	At Year-End 2015			At Year-End 2014
Employee benefits	$	348		$	347
Net operating loss carry-forwards	205			257
Tax credits	111			182
Reserves	63			57
Frequent guest program	68			47
Self-insurance	21			24
Deferred income	21			20
Joint venture interests	(49		)	(34		)
Other, net	31			48
Deferred taxes	819			948
Less: valuation allowance	(163		)	(145		)
Net deferred taxes	$	656		$	803

Reconciliation of the U.S. Statutory Tax Rate to Our Effective Income Tax Rate for Continuing Operations

The following table reconciles the U.S. statutory tax rate to our effective income tax rate for the last three fiscal years:



	2015		2014		2013
U.S. statutory tax rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
U.S. state income taxes, net of U.S. federal tax benefit	2.9		2.7		2.6
Nondeductible expenses	0.2		0.2		0.5
Non-U.S. income	(5.2	)	(4.8	)	(5.7	)
Change in valuation allowance	1.2		(0.4	)	0.3
Tax credits	(0.3	)	(0.3	)	(0.4	)
Other, net	(2.3	)	(1.6	)	(2.1	)
Effective rate	31.5	%	30.8	%	30.2	%