Note 8 — Income taxes

Income tax expense includes the following:

	2016			2015			2014
Current:
U.S. federal	$	44,156		$	36,875		$	52,985
State and local		2,256			1,623			1,900
Foreign		53,836			49,153			47,366
Total current		100,248			87,651			102,251
Deferred:
U.S. federal		(2,334	)		4,950			8,695
State and local		563			1,031			(1,635	)
Foreign		(1,826	)		(3,881	)		(3,571	)
Total deferred		(3,597	)		2,100			3,489
	$	96,651		$	89,751		$	105,740

Earnings before income taxes of domestic operations, which are calculated after intercompany profit eliminations, were $156,723, $140,044 and $184,894 in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

On December 18, 2015, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 was enacted which retroactively reinstated the Federal Research and Development Tax Credit (Federal R&D Tax Credit) as of January 1, 2015, and made it permanent. As a result, our income tax provision for 2016 includes a discrete tax benefit of $2,200 related to 2015. The tax rate for 2016 also includes a discrete tax benefit of $6,154 related to dividends paid from previously taxed foreign earnings generated prior to 2015, and a benefit of $2,682 related to the effective settlement of a tax exam.

On December 19, 2014, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 was enacted which retroactively reinstated the Federal Research and Development Tax Credit (Federal R&D Tax Credit) from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 and extended certain other tax provisions. As a result, our income tax provision for 2015 included discrete tax benefits of $2,486 primarily related to 2014.

A reconciliation of the U.S. statutory federal rate to the worldwide consolidated effective tax rate follows:

	2016			2015			2014
Statutory federal income tax rate		35.00	%		35.00	%		35.00	%
Domestic Production Deduction		(1.43	)		(1.47	)		(1.74	)
Foreign tax rate variances, net of foreign tax credits		(4.59	)		(3.25	)		(3.42	)
State and local taxes, net of federal income tax benefit		0.50			0.43			0.05
Amounts related to prior years		(1.20	)		(1.04	)		(0.24	)
Tax benefit from previously taxed dividends paid		(1.67	)		—			—
Other – net		(0.38	)		0.16			0.35
Effective tax rate		26.23	%		29.83	%		30.00	%

The Domestic Production Deduction, enacted by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, allows a deduction with respect to income from certain United States manufacturing activities.

Earnings before income taxes of international operations, which are calculated before intercompany profit elimination entries, were $211,771, $160,818 and $167,619 in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Deferred income taxes are not provided on undistributed earnings of international subsidiaries that are intended to be permanently invested in their operations. These undistributed earnings represent the post-income tax earnings under U.S. GAAP not adjusted for previously taxed income which aggregated approximately $757,501 and $712,913 at October 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Should these earnings be distributed, applicable foreign tax credits, distributions of previously taxed income, and utilization of other attributes would substantially offset taxes due upon the distribution. It is not practical to estimate the amount of additional taxes that might be payable on such undistributed earnings.

At October 31, 2016 and 2015, total unrecognized tax benefits were $3,336 and $6,258, respectively. The amounts that, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate were $2,775 and $5,650 at October 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. During 2016, unrecognized tax benefits related primarily to foreign positions and, as recognized, a substantial portion of the gross unrecognized tax benefits were offset against assets recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits for 2016, 2015 and 2014 is as follows:

	2016			2015			2014
Balance at beginning of year	$	6,258		$	5,812		$	5,717
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year		522			288			196
Additions for tax positions of prior years		310			331			319
Reductions for tax positions of prior years		(140	)		(28	)		—
Settlements		(3,091	)		—			(110	)
Lapse of statute of limitations		(523	)		(145	)		(310	)
Balance at end of year	$	3,336		$	6,258		$	5,812

At October 31, 2016 and 2015, we had accrued interest and penalty expense related to unrecognized tax benefits of $541 and $2,664, respectively. We include interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense. Penalties, if incurred, would be recognized as other income (expense).

We are subject to United States Federal income tax as well as income taxes in numerous state and foreign jurisdictions. We are subject to examination in the U.S. by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the 2013 through 2016 tax years; tax years prior to the 2013 year are closed to further examination by the IRS. Generally, major state and foreign jurisdiction tax years remain open to examination for tax years after 2010. Within the next twelve months, it is reasonably possible that certain statute of limitations periods would expire, which could result in a minimal decrease in our unrecognized tax benefits.

Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	2016			2015
Deferred tax assets:
Employee benefits	$	93,837		$	84,651
Other accruals not currently deductible for taxes		16,861			17,259
Tax credit and loss carryforwards		11,111			9,242
Inventory adjustments		7,915			6,591
Total deferred tax assets		129,724			117,743
Valuation allowance		(8,304	)		(6,768	)
Total deferred tax assets		121,420			110,975
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation and amortization		171,209			171,234
Other - net		1,366			196
Total deferred tax liabilities		172,575			171,430
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(51,155	)	$	(60,455	)

At October 31, 2016, we had $4,112 of tax credit carryforwards of which $103 will expire in 2017 through 2022, and $4,009 of which has an indefinite carryforward period. We also had $5,273 Federal, $73,809 state and $16,121 foreign operating loss carryforwards, of which $79,616 will expire in 2017 through 2036, and $15,587 of which has an indefinite carryforward period. The net change in the valuation allowance was an increase of $1,537 in 2016 and a decrease of $904 in 2015. The valuation allowance of $8,304 at October 31, 2016, related primarily to tax credits and loss carryforwards that may expire before being realized. We continue to assess the need for valuation allowances against deferred tax assets based on determinations of whether it is more likely than not that deferred tax benefits will be realized.