Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2021

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Total income taxes were allocated as follows (in thousands):

	Year Ended November 30,
	2021		2020		2019
Income tax expense	$	559,229	$	302,748	$	80,284

The provision for income tax expense consists of the following components (in thousands):

	Year Ended November 30,
	2021		2020		2019
Current:
U.S. Federal	$	306,108	$	213,274	$	50,970
U.S. state and local	74,601		35,317		(3,641)
Foreign	88,164		71,898		10,923
Total current	468,873		320,489		58,252
Deferred:
U.S. Federal	67,636		(30,190)		19,973
U.S. state and local	18,056		(96)		5,768
Foreign	4,664		12,545		(3,709)
Total deferred	90,356		(17,741)		22,032
Total income tax expense	$	559,229	$	302,748	$	80,284

The following table presents the U.S. and non-U.S. components of income before income tax expense (in thousands):

	Year Ended November 30,
	2021		2020		2019
U.S.	$	1,843,953	$	888,639	$	313,349
Non-U.S. (1)	340,000		288,815		11,320
Income before income tax expense	$	2,183,953	$	1,177,454	$	324,669

(1)For purposes of this table, non-U.S. income is defined as income generated from operations located outside the U.S.

Income tax expense differed from the amounts computed by applying the U.S. Federal statutory income tax rate of 21.0% to earnings before income taxes as a result of the following (dollars in thousands):

	Year Ended November 30,
	2021				2020				2019
	Amount		Percent		Amount		Percent		Amount		Percent
Computed expected income taxes	$	458,630	21.0	%	$	247,265	21.0	%	$	68,181	21.0	%
Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:
State and local income taxes, net of Federal income tax benefit	82,070		3.8		50,923		4.3		11,638		3.6
International operations (including foreign rate differential)	20,080		0.9		13,168		1.1		4,518		1.4
Tax exempt income	(1,046)		—		(227)		—		(634)		(0.2)
Foreign tax credits, net	(13,963)		(0.6)		(8,654)		(0.7)		(1,664)		(0.5)
Meals and entertainment	915		—		1,822		0.2		3,641		1.1
Non-deductible executive compensation	16,313		0.7		8,407		0.7		3,720		1.1
Change in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior years	(7,902)		(0.4)		(9,314)		(0.8)		(7,690)		(2.4)
Other, net	4,132		0.2		(642)		(0.1)		(1,426)		(0.4)
Total income tax expense	$	559,229	25.6	%	$	302,748	25.7	%	$	80,284	24.7	%

The following table presents a reconciliation of gross unrecognized tax benefits (in thousands):

	Year Ended November 30,
	2021		2020		2019
Balance at beginning of period	$	168,647	$	125,607	$	125,626
Increases based on tax positions related to the current period	46,962		40,209		8,142
Increases based on tax positions related to prior periods	1,938		5,275		1,399
Decreases based on tax positions related to prior periods	(18,612)		(2,444)		(9,560)
Balance at end of period	$	198,935	$	168,647	$	125,607

The total amount of unrecognized benefits that, if recognized, would favorably affect the effective tax rate was $157.8 million and $133.9 million (net of Federal benefit) at November 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

We recognize interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in Interest expense. Penalties, if any, are recognized in Other expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Earnings. Net interest expense related to unrecognized tax benefits was $8.9 million, $9.8 million and $6.3 million for the years ended November 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. At November 30, 2021 and 2020, we had interest accrued of approximately $74.3 million and $65.4 million, respectively, included in Accrued expenses and other liabilities in our Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. No material penalties were accrued for the years ended November 30, 2021 and 2020.

The cumulative tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and liabilities are presented below (in thousands):

	November 30,
	2021		2020
Deferred tax assets:
Compensation and benefits	$	150,449	$	238,154
Operating lease liabilities	129,996		140,742
Long-term debt	65,037		41,934
Accrued expenses and other	91,081		61,247
Net operating losses	1,756		2,534
Sub-total	438,319		484,611
Valuation allowance	(2,817)		(3,201)
Total deferred tax assets	435,502		481,410
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating lease right-of-use assets	121,062		134,638
Amortization of intangibles	64,697		67,663
Partnerships	34,223		28,249
Other	29,485		15,167
Total deferred tax liabilities	249,467		245,717
Net deferred tax asset, included in Other assets	$	186,035	$	235,693

The valuation allowance represents the portion of our deferred tax assets for which it is more likely than not that the benefit of such items will not be realized. We believe that the realization of the net deferred tax asset of $186.0 million at November 30, 2021 is more likely than not based on expectations of future taxable income in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

At November 30, 2021, we had gross net operating loss carryforwards of $1.8 million, primarily related to various European jurisdictions. Deferred tax assets of $1.4 million related to net operating losses in Europe and $0.4 million related to net operating losses in Asia Pacific have been fully offset by the valuation allowance. The remaining valuation allowance is attributable to deferred tax assets related to compensation and benefits in the U.K.

We have a tax sharing agreement between us and Jefferies. Refer to Note 21, Related Party Transactions, herein, for further information.

We are currently under examination by a number of taxing jurisdictions. Though we do not expect that resolution of these examinations will have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, they may have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations for the period in which resolution occurs. It is reasonably possible that, within the next twelve months, statutes of limitation will expire which would have the effect of reducing the balance of unrecognized tax benefits by $8.3 million.

The table below summarizes the earliest tax years that remain subject to examination in the major tax jurisdictions in which we operate:

Jurisdiction	Tax Year
United States	2018
New York State	2001
New York City	2006
United Kingdom	2020
Hong Kong	2015
India	2010

We will recognize any U.S. income tax expense we may incur on global intangible low-taxed income as income tax expense in the period in which the tax is incurred.