Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

May 31, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Earnings before Income Taxes

Earnings before income taxes for the fiscal years ended May 31 included the following components:

(in thousands)	2022		2021		2020
U.S. based operations	$	470,248	$	897,601	$	99,493
Non – U.S. based operations		44,038		20,116		11,293
Earnings before income taxes		514,286		917,717		110,786
Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests*		19,878		17,655		5,648
Earnings before income taxes attributable to controlling interest	$	494,408	$	900,062	$	105,138

Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Significant components of income tax expense (benefit) for the fiscal years ended May 31 were as follows:

(in thousands)	2022			2021			2020
Current
Federal	$	79,674		$	160,903		$	20,739
State and local		8,704			6,018			1,713
Foreign		7,469			4,524			5,199
		95,847			171,445			27,651
Deferred
Federal		19,398			6,668			(2,350	)
State and local		2,576			(391	)		732
Foreign		(2,799	)		(1,455	)		309
		19,175			4,822			(1,309	)
	$	115,022		$	176,267		$	26,342

Reconciliation of Federal Statutory Corporate Income Tax Rate to Total Tax Provision

A reconciliation of the federal statutory corporate income tax rate to total tax provision follows:

	2022			2021			2020
Federal statutory corporate income tax rate		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal tax benefit		2.3			0.8			2.4
Non-U.S. income taxes at other than federal statutory rate		(0.9	)		(0.3	)		3.1
Excess benefit related to share-based payment awards		(0.2	)		(0.5	)		(1.2	)
Nondeductible executive compensation		0.9			0.6			1.1
Oil & Gas capital stock loss		-			(1.5	)		-
Other		0.2			(0.5	)		(1.3	)
Effective tax rate attributable to controlling interest		23.3	%		19.6	%		25.1	%

Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A tabular reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits follows:

(In thousands)
Balance at May 31, 2021	$	3,836
Decreases - tax positions taken in prior years		(513	)
Increases - current tax positions		1,436
Lapse of statutes of limitations		(53	)
Balance at May 31, 2022	$	4,706

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities as of May 31 were as follows:

(in thousands)	2022			2021
Deferred tax assets
Accounts receivable	$	1,695		$	1,244
Inventories		6,291			4,946
Accrued expenses		28,981			24,714
Net operating loss carry forwards		8,178			9,907
Stock-based compensation		5,432			6,076
Operating lease - ROU liability		10,443			7,642
Other		1,588			2,309
Total deferred tax assets		62,608			56,838
Valuation allowance for deferred tax assets		(5,878	)		(9,124	)
Net deferred tax assets		56,730			47,714
Deferred tax liabilities
Property, plant and equipment		(127,859	)		(111,789	)
Investment in affiliated companies, principally due    to undistributed earnings		(28,274	)		(24,034	)
Operating lease - ROU asset		(10,354	)		(7,102	)
Derivative contracts		(412	)		(15,343	)
Other		(4,963	)		(3,197	)
Total deferred tax liability		(171,862	)		(161,465	)
Net deferred tax liability	$	(115,132	)	$	(113,751	)