Income Taxes

Income from continuing operations before income taxes consists of the following components:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Domestic	$	384,853	$	468,314	$	221,941
Foreign	12,175		687		333
Total	$	397,028	$	469,001	$	222,274

Income tax expense attributable to continuing operations consists of the following components:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Current expense (benefit):
Federal	$	111,047		$	(10,137	)	$	148,495
State	10,882			2,403			14,443
Foreign	13,837			5,104			4,393
	135,766			(2,630		)	167,331
Deferred expense (benefit):
Federal	5,036			154,299			(77,360		)
State	(1,373		)	17,205			(11,154		)
Foreign	(2,456		)	—			—
	1,207			171,504			(88,514		)
Tax (benefit) expense relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest	(7,818		)	9,967			7,241
Income tax expense	$	129,155		$	178,841		$	86,058

A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to the effective income tax rate is as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
U.S. federal statutory income tax rate	35	%	35	%	35	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit	2		2		2
Effect of foreign operations	(2	)	—		—
Nontaxable income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1	)	—		—
Changes in the valuation allowance	1		1		(1	)
Domestic production activity deduction	(2	)	(1	)	—
Tax expense relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest, net of deferred tax benefits	(1	)	2		2
Other	—		(1	)	1
Effective income tax rate	32	%	38	%	39	%

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant components of deferred tax assets or liabilities at December 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:



	December 31,
	2014			2013
Deferred Tax Asset (Liability)
Current
NOLs and tax credit carry forwards	$	9,003		$	5,130
Compensation and benefit plans	15,213			13,299
Allowance for doubtful accounts	286			316
Other liabilities	5,537			1,280
Deferred tax asset	30,039			20,025
Valuation allowance	(596		)	(2,623		)
Net deferred tax asset, current	29,443			17,402
Other assets	(4,662		)	(1,734		)
Deferred tax liability, current	(4,662		)	(1,734		)
Net deferred tax asset, current	24,781			15,668
Noncurrent
NOLs and tax credit carry forwards	68,042			26,413
Compensation and benefit plans	20,705			18,713
Fixed assets and intangible assets	43,751			—
Interest rate swap contracts	2,857			3,577
Accrued interest expense	10,522			—
Other liabilities	9,171			7,281
Deferred tax asset	155,048			55,984
Valuation allowance	(50,434		)	(7,335		)
Net deferred tax asset, noncurrent	104,614			48,649
Prepaid liabilities	(781		)	(825		)
Fixed assets and intangible assets	(64,762		)	(8,595		)
Investments in partnerships	(138,790		)	(131,116		)
Other assets	(13,803		)	(3,388		)
Deferred tax liability, noncurrent	(218,136		)	(143,924		)
Net deferred tax liability, noncurrent	(113,522		)	(95,275		)
Total net deferred tax liability	$	(88,741	)	$	(79,607	)

At December 31, 2014, the Company had foreign tax credit carry forwards of approximately $34,400, expiring on various dates from 2015 through 2024, and net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $190,000 related primarily to our foreign subsidiaries. Although the majority of these net operating loss carry forwards have an unlimited carry forward period, the deferred tax assets of approximately $39,000 for these carry forwards have been reduced by a valuation allowance of approximately $29,000 as it is more likely than not that these carry forwards will not be realized. The remainder of the valuation allowance at December 31, 2014 relates primarily to deferred tax assets attributable to temporary differences of certain foreign subsidiaries for which it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, excess tax benefits of $6,798 relating to share-based compensation awards and $1,600 relating to amortization of tax deductible second component goodwill were realized as a reduction in tax liability (as determined on a 'with-and-without' approach).

At December 31, 2014, the liability for uncertain tax positions was $17,099, excluding the related accrued interest liability of $1,388 and deferred tax assets of $3,760. All of such unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, would reduce the Company's income tax expense and effective tax rate.

A reconciliation of the beginning to ending amount of the liability for uncertain tax positions (excluding related accrued interest and deferred tax benefit) is as follows:



Balance at December 31, 2013	$	26,333
Increases related to current year tax positions	2,235
Increases related to prior year tax positions	999
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(644		)
Decreases due to settlements of prior year tax positions	(8,944		)
Decreases due to payments related to prior year tax positions	(2,880		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	17,099

Interest expense (net of the related deferred tax benefit) of $786 offset by interest income of $1,225, related to the settlements of prior year tax positions, was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2014 and is included in income tax expense in the consolidated statement of income. At December 31, 2014 and 2013, the liability for uncertain tax positions and related accrued interest noted above are included in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

Under the Company's Tax Disaffiliation Agreement with Cablevision Systems Corporation (Cablevision Systems Corporation and its subsidiaries are referred to as “Cablevision”), Cablevision is liable for all income taxes of the Company for periods prior to the spin-off from Cablevision except for New York City Unincorporated Business Tax. In 2014, the Company settled New York City Unincorporated Business tax audits for the year 2008 for $1,381, including accrued interest and for years 2009 through 2013 for $2,109, including accrued interest. The City of New York is currently auditing the Company’s General Corporation Tax Return for years 2011 and 2012 and the State of New York is currently auditing the Company’s General Business Corporation Franchise Tax Return for years 2011 and 2012. The State of Georgia is currently auditing the Company’s Corporation Tax Return for years 2011 through 2013. The Internal Revenue Service is currently auditing the Company's U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return for 2011.