(Loss) earnings before income taxes during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
(millions)	2020			2019		2018
United States	$	(240.1	)	$	69.7	$	74.9
Foreign		(0.3	)		1.4		1.1
Total	$	(240.4	)	$	71.1	$	76.0

The components of income tax (benefit) expense during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
(millions)	2020			2019			2018
Current provision
U.S. federal	$	(15.3	)	$	9.6		$	9.9
Foreign		0.2			0.9			1.0
State		0.1			4.7			7.4
Total current		(15.0	)		15.2			18.3
Deferred provision
U.S. federal		(40.7	)		2.9			1.3
Foreign		—			(0.1	)		(0.3	)
State		(11.8	)		1.4			0.3
Total deferred		(52.5	)		4.2			1.3
Income tax (benefit) expense	$	(67.5	)	$	19.4		$	19.6

Deferred income taxes reflect the net effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for U.S. GAAP purposes and the amount used for income tax purposes.

Components of the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:

	December 31,
(millions)	2020			2019
Deferred tax assets
Net operating loss carry forwards and tax credits	$	23.5		$	20.8
Lease liability		87.9			119.5
Accrued expenses		15.2			15.0
Accrued compensation		8.4			9.2
Depreciation		17.2			—
Other		3.4			1.4
Total gross deferred tax assets		155.6			165.9
Valuation allowances		(10.7	)		(8.3	)
Total deferred tax assets		144.9			157.6
Deferred tax liabilities
Prepaid expenses		(0.2	)		(0.1	)
Right of use asset		(62.8	)		(114.9	)
Undistributed foreign earnings		(0.2	)		—
Depreciation and amortization		—			(0.7	)
Goodwill amortization		(13.0	)		(26.2	)
Equity investments in unconsolidated entities		(4.9	)		(5.1	)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(81.1	)		(147.0	)
Net deferred tax asset	$	63.8		$	10.6

Changes affecting the valuation allowances on deferred tax assets during the years ended December 2020, 2019, and 2018 were as follows:

	December 31,
(millions)	2020		2019		2018
Beginning Balance	$	8.3	$	8.1	$	7.1
Current year expense		2.4		0.2		1.0
Ending Balance	$	10.7	$	8.3	$	8.1

The accounting guidance for accounting for income taxes requires that the Company assess the realizability of deferred tax assets at each reporting period. These assessments generally consider several factors including the reversal of existing temporary differences, projected future taxable income and potential tax planning strategies. The Company has valuation allowances of $10.7 million and $8.3 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, primarily related to our state Net Operating Loss carryforwards ("NOLs"), foreign tax credits and state tax credits that the Company believes are not likely to be realized based on its estimates of future state taxable income, limitations on the uses of its state NOLs and the carryforward life over which the state tax benefit is realized.

The Company recognized excess tax benefits of $0.1 million and $0.5 million during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and as a result of the required adoption of ASU 2016-09 – Improvements to Employee Share-based Payment Accounting, the Company's effective tax rate may have increased volatility.

The Company has $20.5 million of tax effected state NOLs as of December 31, 2020, which will expire in the years 2021 through 2040. As noted above, the utilization of NOLs of the Company are limited.

A reconciliation of the Company's reported income tax provision to the amount computed by multiplying earnings before income taxes by statutory United States federal income tax rate during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
(millions)	2020			2019			2018
Tax at statutory rate	$	(50.5	)	$	14.9		$	16.0
Permanent differences		0.7			0.8			0.2
State taxes, net of federal benefit		(13.9	)		4.5			6.3
Effect of foreign tax rates		0.4			0.6			0.6
Federal net operating loss carryback rate differential		(6.1	)		—			—
Effect of 2017 Tax Act		—			—			(1.5	)
Noncontrolling interest		—			(0.6	)		(0.7	)
Current year adjustment to deferred taxes		—			0.8			0.4
Recognition of tax credits		(0.5	)		(1.8	)		(2.7	)
		(69.9	)		19.2			18.6
Change in valuation allowance		2.4			0.2			1.0
Income tax (benefit) expense	$	(67.5	)	$	19.4		$	19.6
Effective tax rate		28.1	%		27.3	%		25.8	%

Due to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in 2020, the Company will be able to carry back its current year taxable loss to the 2015 and 2016 tax years, which had a higher corporate tax rate. As a result, the Company recorded an income tax refund receivable of $15.4 as of December 31, 2020, which is included in Prepaid and other current assets within the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Taxes paid were $2.4 million, $15.3 million and $15.3 million in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The Company finalized its accounting for the income tax effects of the 2017 Tax Act during the year ended December 31, 2018 and recorded a tax benefit of $1.5 million for the transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of foreign earnings.

The 2017 Tax Act also included a provision designed to tax Global Intangible Low Taxed Income (“GILTI”). The Company has elected the period cost method to account for any tax liability subject to GILTI. The GILTI amount recognized during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was not significant.

As of December 31, 2020 the Company had not identified any uncertain tax positions that would have a material impact on the Company's financial position.

The Company would recognize potential interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions, if any, in income tax expense. The tax years that remain subject to examination for the Company's major tax jurisdictions as of December 31, 2020 were as follows: