INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

The (Provision for) Benefit from Income Taxes

Our provision for income taxes for the last three fiscal years consists of:



($ in millions)		2014			2013			2012
Current	-U.S. Federal	$	(224	)	$	(139	)	$	6
	-U.S. State	(43		)	(17		)	(8		)
	-Non-U.S.	(47		)	(44		)	(34		)
		(314		)	(200		)	(36		)

Deferred	-U.S. Federal	(21		)	(68		)	(211		)
	-U.S. State	(5		)	(10		)	(30		)
	-Non-U.S.	5			7			(1		)
		(21		)	(71		)	(242		)
		$	(335	)	$	(271	)	$	(278	)

Unrecognized Tax Benefits Reconciliation

The following table reconciles our unrecognized tax benefit balance for each year from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2014:



($ in millions)	Amount
Unrecognized tax benefit at beginning of 2012	$	39
Change attributable to withdrawal of tax positions previously taken or expected to be taken	12
Change attributable to tax positions taken during the current period	(20		)
Decrease attributable to lapse of statute of limitations	(2		)
Unrecognized tax benefit at year-end of 2012	29
Change attributable to tax positions taken during the current period	8
Decrease attributable to settlements with taxing authorities	(2		)
Decrease attributable to lapse of statute of limitations	(1		)
Unrecognized tax benefit at year-end of 2013	34
Change attributable to tax positions taken during the current period	3
Decrease attributable to settlements with taxing authorities	(27		)
Decrease attributable to lapse of statute of limitations	—
Unrecognized tax benefit at year-end of 2014	$	10

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

We had the following total deferred tax assets and liabilities at year-end 2014 and year-end 2013:



($ in millions)	At Year-End 2014		At Year-End 2013
Deferred tax assets	$	803	$	878
Deferred tax liabilities	—		(12		)
Net deferred taxes	$	803	$	866

The following table details the composition of our net deferred tax balances at year-end 2014 and year-end 2013:



($ in millions) Balance Sheet Caption	At Year-End 2014			At Year-End 2013
Current deferred taxes, net	$	311		$	252
Deferred taxes, net	530			647
Accrued expenses and other	(22		)	(19		)
Other noncurrent liabilities	(16		)	(14		)
Net deferred taxes	$	803		$	866

The following table presents the tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carry-forward that gave rise to a significant portion of our deferred tax assets and liabilities as of year-end 2014 and year-end 2013:



($ in millions)	At Year-End 2014			At Year-End 2013
Employee benefits	$	347		$	340
Net operating loss carry-forwards	257			293
Tax credits	182			273
Reserves	55			61
Frequent guest program	47			30
Self-insurance	24			23
Deferred income	20			23
Other, net	16			(12		)
Deferred taxes	948			1,031
Less: valuation allowance	(145		)	(165		)
Net deferred taxes	$	803		$	866

Reconciliation of the U.S. Statutory Tax Rate to Our Effective Income Tax Rate for Continuing Operations

The following table reconciles the U.S. statutory tax rate to our effective income tax rate for the last three fiscal years:



	2014		2013		2012
U.S. statutory tax rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
U.S. state income taxes, net of U.S. federal tax benefit	2.7		2.6		2.6
Nondeductible expenses	0.2		0.5		0.3
Non-U.S. income	(4.8	)	(5.7	)	(3.9	)
Change in valuation allowance	(0.4	)	0.3		(0.2	)
Tax credits	(0.3	)	(0.4	)	(0.4	)
Other, net	(1.6	)	(2.1	)	(0.7	)
Effective rate	30.8	%	30.2	%	32.7	%