9.	Income Taxes

The provision (benefit) for income taxes from operations is as follows (in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015		2014
Current:
Federal	$	6,442		$	5,833	$	(7,058	)
State		2,030			921		(640	)
		8,472			6,754		(7,698	)
Deferred:
Federal		85			1,854		(10,294	)
State		(1,770	)		1,044		894
		(1,685	)		2,898		(9,400	)
Total provision (benefit)	$	6,787		$	9,652	$	(17,098	)

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities consist of the following components (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2016			2015
Deferred income tax assets:
Workers' compensation claims liabilities	$	11,477		$	11,190
MCC accrual		4,561			3,532
Safety incentives payable		7,779			5,851
Allowance for doubtful accounts		31			109
Deferred compensation		—			219
Equity based compensation		991			719
Tax effect of unrealized losses, net		(17	)		(3	)
Alternative minimum tax credit carryforward		1,648			1,831
State credit carryforward		868			712
Other		765			436
		28,103			24,596
Less valuation allowance		216			216
		27,887			24,380
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Tax depreciation in excess of book depreciation		(5,319	)		(4,243	)
Tax amortization of goodwill		(13,191	)		(12,395	)
Other		(7	)		(57	)
		(18,517	)		(16,695	)
Net deferred income tax assets	$	9,370		$	7,685

The effective tax rate for operations differed from the U.S. statutory federal tax rate due to the following:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016				2015				2014
Statutory federal tax rate		35.0		%		35.0		%		(35.0	)	%
State taxes, net of federal benefit		1.1				4.3				.6
Valuation allowance on capital loss carryforward and state tax credit carryforward		—				(2.1	)			(.2	)
Adjustment for final positions on filed returns		0.2				(3.5	)			(.8	)
Nondeductible expenses and other, net		1.8				6.1				3.6
Federal tax-exempt interest income		—				(.1	)			(.2	)
Federal and state tax credits		(11.6	)			(14.3	)			(6.9	)
Other, net		—				2.1				(1.2	)
		26.5		%		27.5		%		(40.1	)	%

The realization of a significant portion of net deferred tax assets is based in part on our estimates of the timing of reversals of certain temporary differences and on the generation of taxable income before such reversals.

Under ASC 740, “Income Taxes,” management evaluates the realizability of the deferred tax assets on a quarterly basis under a “more-likely than not” standard. As part of this evaluation, management reviews all evidence both positive and negative to determine if a valuation allowance is needed. One component of this analysis is to determine whether the Company was in a cumulative loss position for the most recent 12 quarters. The Company was in a cumulative income position for the 12 quarters ended at both December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.

The Company is subject to income taxes in U.S. federal and multiple state and local tax jurisdictions. The Internal Revenue Service is examining the Company’s federal tax returns for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In the major jurisdictions where it operates, the Company is generally no longer subject to income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2011. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had no unrecognized tax benefits.

A portion of the consolidated income the Company generates is not subject to state income tax. Depending on the percentage of this income as compared to total consolidated income, the Company's state effective rate could fluctuate from expectations.

At December 31, 2016, the Company did not have a federal general business tax credit carry forward. The Company had an alternative minimum tax credit carry forward of approximately $1.6 million which has an indefinite life and will not expire until utilized.

At December 31, 2016, the Company had state tax credit carry forwards of approximately $868,000 which expire unless utilized in tax years on or before December 31, 2025.