Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Earnings Before Income Taxes and Income Tax Expense

Earnings before income taxes and income tax expense consist of:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
	(in thousands)
Earnings before income taxes:
United States	$	743,687	$	697,501	$	672,221
Foreign	163,749		125,936		153,093
Total	$	907,436	$	823,437	$	825,314
Income tax expense:
Partnership UBT	$	3,356	$	9,196	$	5,251
Corporate subsidiaries:
Federal	1,495		(943)		(4,030)
State and local	904		975		2,888
Foreign	44,086		32,290		36,529
Current tax expense	49,841		41,518		40,638
Deferred tax	(4,188)		236		5,178
Income tax expense	$	45,653	$	41,754	$	45,816

Difference Between the Effective Tax Rates and UBT Statutory Tax Rate

The principal reasons for the difference between the effective tax rates and the UBT statutory tax rate of 4.0% are as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2020				2019				2018
	(in thousands)
UBT statutory rate	$	36,297	4.0	%	$	32,937	4.0	%	$	33,012	4.0	%
Corporate subsidiaries' federal, state, and local	2,025		0.2		4,000		0.5		1,522		0.2
Foreign subsidiaries taxed at different rates	33,969		3.7		26,719		3.3		30,689		3.7
2017 Tax Act	—		—		—		—		1,155		0.1
FIN 48 reserve (release)	(1,886)		(0.2)		2,765		0.3		(5,177)		(0.6)
UBT business allocation percentage rate change	8		—		(79)		—		2,657		0.3
Deferred tax and payable write-offs	(887)		(0.1)		314		—		2,932		0.4
Foreign outside basis difference	3		—		155		—		2,273		0.3
Amended 2017 return	(221)		—		(3,853)		(0.5)		—		—
Effect of ASC 740 adjustments, miscellaneous taxes, and other	2,654		0.3		2,305		0.3		(2,521)		(0.3)
Income not taxable resulting from use of UBT business apportionment factors and effect of compensation charge	(26,309)		(2.9)		(23,509)		(2.8)		(20,726)		(2.5)
Income tax expense and effective tax rate	$	45,653	5.0		$	41,754	5.1		$	45,816	5.6

Reconciliation of the Beginning and Ending Amount of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
	(in thousands)
Balance as of beginning of period	$	5,706	$	3,893	$	8,478
Additions for prior year tax positions	—		1,813		—
Reductions for prior year tax positions	—		—		—
Additions for current year tax positions	—		—		—
Reductions for current year tax positions	—		—		—
Reductions related to closed years/settlements with tax authorities	(2,868)		—		(4,585)
Balance as of end of period	$	2,838	$	5,706	$	3,893

Tax Effect of Significant Items Comprising the Net Deferred Tax Asset (Liability)

The tax effect of significant items comprising the net deferred tax asset (liability) is as follows:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
	(in thousands)
Deferred tax asset:
Differences between book and tax basis:
Benefits from net operating loss carryforwards	$	7,112	$	5,551
Long-term incentive compensation plans	22,363		20,907
Investment basis differences	5,256		4,376
Depreciation and amortization	2,065		1,554
Lease liability	5,994		6,409
Other, primarily accrued expenses deductible when paid	4,737		3,106
	47,527		41,903
Less: valuation allowance	(3,025)		(2,026)
Deferred tax asset	44,502		39,877
Deferred tax liability:
Differences between book and tax basis:
Intangible assets	7,933		8,013
Investment in foreign subsidiaries	3,048		2,191
Right-of-use asset	4,975		5,191
Other	1,760		1,672
Deferred tax liability	17,716		17,067
Net deferred tax asset	$	26,786	$	22,810