7.	INCOME TAXES

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following:

	(In thousands)
	Fiscal		Fiscal		Fiscal
	2019		2018		2017
Current	$	39,673	$	55,039	$	54,422
Deferred		3,351		676		1,358
Total	$	43,024	$	55,715	$	55,780

Deferred taxes are recorded to give recognition to temporary differences between the tax bases of assets or liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements. Valuation allowances are established to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets when it is deemed more likely than

not

that the benefit of deferred tax assets will

not

be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities as of

April 27, 2019

and

April 28, 2018

consisted of the following:

	(In thousands)
	2019		2018
Deferred tax assets:
Accrued expenses and other	$	3,705	$	2,900
Inventory and amortizable assets		265		331
Total deferred tax assets		3,970		3,231
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property		18,505		14,858
Intangibles and other		1,452		2,875
Total deferred tax liabilities		19,957		17,733
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	15,987	$	14,502

The reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to our effective tax rate is as follows:

	Fiscal			Fiscal			Fiscal
	2019			2018			2017
Statutory federal income tax rate		21.0	%		30.4	%		35.0	%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit		2.9			2.4			2.2
Domestic manufacturing deduction benefit		-			(2.4	)		(3.0	)
Remeasurement of deferred taxes		-			(2.9	)		-
Other differences		(.5	)		(.4	)		.1
Effective income tax rate		23.4	%		27.1	%		34.3	%

As of

April 27, 2019,

the gross amount of unrecognized tax benefits was

$1.9

million and

$116,000

was recognized as tax expense in Fiscal

2019.

If we were to prevail on all uncertain tax positions, the net effect would be to reduce our tax expense by approximately

$1.5

million. A reconciliation of the changes in the gross amount of unrecognized tax benefits, which amounts are included in other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, is as follows:

	(In thousands)
	Fiscal			Fiscal			Fiscal
	2019			2018			2017
Beginning balance	$	1,733		$	1,743		$	1,678
Increases due to current period tax positions		139			204			150
Decreases due to lapse of statute of limitations and audit resolutions		(4	)		(214	)		(85	)
Ending balance	$	1,868		$	1,733		$	1,743

We recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. As of

April 27, 2019,

unrecognized tax benefits included accrued interest of

$253,000,

of which approximately

$15,000

was recognized as tax expense in Fiscal

2019.

December 22, 2017,

the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) was enacted into law. The Tax Act makes changes to the U.S. tax code, including reducing the U.S. federal tax rate from

35%

21%

effective

January 1, 2018.

The phasing in of the lower corporate income tax rate results in a blended federal statutory rate of

30.4%

for our fiscal

2018,

compared with the previous

35%

rate. Included in the effective tax rate for Fiscal

2018

is a

one

-time adjustment reducing income tax expense to remeasure previous deferred tax liabilities of

$4.3

million.

We file annual income tax returns in the United States and in various state and local jurisdictions. A number of years

may

elapse before an uncertain tax position, for which we have unrecognized tax benefits, is resolved. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, we believe that our unrecognized tax benefits reflect the most probable outcome. We adjust these unrecognized tax benefits, as well as the related interest, in light of changing facts and circumstances. The resolution of any particular uncertain tax position could require the use of cash and an adjustment to our provision for income taxes in the period of resolution. Federal income tax returns for fiscal years subsequent to

2016

are subject to examination. Generally, the income tax returns for the various state jurisdictions are subject to examination for fiscal years ending after fiscal

2012.