INCOME TAXES

The domestic and foreign components of income before provision for income taxes were as follows (in thousands):



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Domestic	$	87,328		$	164,105		$	44,737
Foreign	(78,612		)	(54,459		)	(6,215		)
Total	$	8,716		$	109,646		$	38,522

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Current:
Federal	$	14,798		$	46,775		$	17,184
State	8,763			11,120			6,918
Foreign	9,844			5,719			10,428
	33,405			63,614			34,530
Deferred
Federal	21,814			12,254			33,858
State	1,644			2,766			1,840
Foreign	(8,274		)	(13,090		)	(3,378		)
	15,184			1,930			32,320
Provision for income taxes	$	48,589		$	65,544		$	66,850

The Company's effective tax rate for fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014 was 557.5%, 59.8% and 173.5%, respectively. The effective income tax rate varied from the amount computed using the statutory federal income tax rate as follows (in thousands):



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
Tax expense at US statutory rate	$	3,051	$	38,376	$	13,483
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	6,010		8,449		7,429
Foreign rate differential	3,646		3,951		(2,916		)
Valuation allowance	22,564		1,824		827
Uncertain tax position interest and penalties	107		32		2,217
Goodwill impairment	11,905		10,974		44,273
Other	1,306		1,938		1,537
Provision for income taxes	$	48,589	$	65,544	$	66,850

During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company allocated $16.8 million of tax benefits related to tax deductible foreign currency losses to accumulated other comprehensive loss and as such these benefits are not included within the provision for income taxes.

(12) INCOME TAXES (Continued)

The components of the total net deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2016 and 2015 were as follows (in thousands):



	2016			2015
Deferred tax assets:
Workers compensation and other claims related accruals	$	1,069		$	15,316
Provision for doubtful accounts	11,189			12,654
Closure, post-closure and remedial liabilities	40,829			37,407
Accrued expenses	18,757			12,455
Accrued compensation	2,747			5,425
Net operating loss carryforwards(1)	46,752			41,191
Tax credit carryforwards(2)	25,348			25,040
Uncertain tax positions accrued interest and federal benefit	1,241			1,219
Stock-based compensation	1,993			615
Other	555			7,421
Total deferred tax assets	150,480			158,743
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	(207,799		)	(221,969		)
Permits and other intangible assets	(161,295		)	(159,698		)
Prepaids	(11,030		)	—
Total deferred tax liabilities	(380,124		)	(381,667		)
Total net deferred tax liability before valuation allowance	(229,644		)	(222,924		)
Less valuation allowance	(55,189		)	(30,916		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(284,833	)	$	(253,840	)

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(1)	As of December 31, 2016, the net operating loss carryforwards included (i) state net operating loss carryovers of $189.0 million which will begin to expire in 2017, (ii) federal net operating loss carryforwards of $62.9 million which will begin to expire in 2025, and (iii) foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $50.5 million which will begin to expire in 2017.


(2)	As of December 31, 2016, the foreign tax credit carryforwards of $25.0 million will expire between 2020 and 2024.

The Company does not accrue U.S. tax for foreign earnings that it considers to be permanently reinvested outside the United States. Consequently, the Company has not provided any U.S. tax on the unremitted earnings of its foreign subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2016, the amount of earnings for which no repatriation tax has been provided was $238.5 million. It is not practicable to estimate the amount of additional tax that might be payable on those earnings if repatriated.

A valuation allowance is required to be established when, based on an evaluation of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had a valuation allowance of $55.2 million and $30.9 million, respectively. The total allowance as of December 31, 2016 consisted of $25.0 million of foreign tax credits, $1.5 million of acquired federal net operating losses, $5.0 million of state net operating loss carryforwards, $18.0 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards, and $5.7 million of deferred tax assets of a Canadian subsidiary. The allowance as of December 31, 2015 consisted of $18.7 million of foreign tax credits, $4.1 million of state net operating loss carryforwards and $6.8 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards and $1.3 million of deferred tax assets of a Canadian subsidiary. The increase in valuation allowances are due to the significant downturn in the operations of certain of the Company’s Canadian businesses in current and recent years and uncertainty as to whether these Canadian businesses will generate sufficient future taxable income to utilize these deferred tax assets. The Company therefore concluded that the recording of valuation allowances were required as of December 31, 2016.

(12) INCOME TAXES (Continued)

The changes to unrecognized tax benefits (excluding related penalties and interest) from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016, were as follows (in thousands):



	2016			2015			2014
Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1	$	2,064		$	2,537		$	1,304
Additions to current year tax positions	—			—			904
Additions to prior year tax positions	—			—			419
Settlements	(533		)	(217		)	—
Foreign currency translation	207			(256		)	(90		)
Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31	$	1,738		$	2,064		$	2,537

At December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company had recorded $1.7 million, $2.1 million and $2.5 million, respectively, of unrecognized tax benefits that if recognized would affect the annual effective tax rate.

The Company's policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. The liability for unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2016 included accrued interest of $0.3 million, $0.4 million and $0.4 million for the payment of interest accrued at December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Interest expense that is recorded as a tax expense against the liability for unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 included interest and penalties of $0.1 million, $0.1 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

The Company files U.S. federal income tax returns as well as income tax returns in various states and foreign jurisdictions. The Company may be subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") for calendar years 2013 through 2015. Additionally, any net operating losses that were generated in prior years and utilized in these years may also be subject to examination by the IRS. The Company may also be subject to examinations by state and local revenue authorities for calendar years 2012 through 2015. The Company is currently not under examination by the IRS. The Company has ongoing U.S. state and local jurisdictional audits, as well as Canadian federal and provincial audits, all of which the Company believes will not result in material liabilities.

Due to expiring statute of limitation periods and the resolution of tax audits, the Company believes that total unrecognized tax benefits will decrease by approximately $0.3 million within the next 12 months.