Income Taxes

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
Domestic	$	566,444	$	384,853	$	468,314
Foreign	16,350		12,175		687
Total	$	582,794	$	397,028	$	469,001

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015		2014			2013
Current expense (benefit):
Federal	$	146,915	$	111,047		$	(10,137	)
State	15,713		10,882			2,403
Foreign	14,508		13,837			5,104
	177,136		135,766			(2,630		)
Deferred expense (benefit):
Federal	12,563		5,036			154,299
State	1,300		(1,373		)	17,205
Foreign	5,753		(2,456		)	—
	19,616		1,207			171,504
Tax expense (benefit) relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest	4,338		(7,818		)	9,967
Income tax expense	$	201,090	$	129,155		$	178,841

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
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	)	(2	)	—
Nontaxable income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1	)	(1	)	—
Changes in the valuation allowance	1		1		1
Domestic production activity deduction	(3	)	(2	)	(1	)
Tax expense relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest, net of deferred tax benefits	1		(1	)	2
Other	1		—		(1	)
Effective income tax rate	34	%	32	%	38	%

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant components of deferred tax assets or liabilities at December 31, 2015 and 2014 are as follows:



	December 31,
	2015			2014
Deferred Tax Asset (Liability)
Current
NOLs and tax credit carry forwards	$	7,076		$	9,003
Compensation and benefit plans	17,296			15,213
Allowance for doubtful accounts	261			286
Other liabilities	5,383			5,537
Deferred tax asset	30,016			30,039
Valuation allowance	(1,236		)	(596		)
Net deferred tax asset, current	28,780			29,443
Other assets	(12,636		)	(4,662		)
Deferred tax liability, current	(12,636		)	(4,662		)
Net deferred tax asset, current	16,144			24,781
Noncurrent
NOLs and tax credit carry forwards	76,285			68,042
Compensation and benefit plans	28,016			20,705
Fixed assets and intangible assets	35,781			43,751
Interest rate swap contracts	2,412			2,857
Accrued interest expense	11,692			10,522
Other liabilities	12,040			9,171
Deferred tax asset	166,226			155,048
Valuation allowance	(53,100		)	(50,434		)
Net deferred tax asset, noncurrent	113,126			104,614
Prepaid liabilities	(820		)	(781		)
Fixed assets and intangible assets	(70,337		)	(64,762		)
Investments in partnerships	(154,215		)	(138,790		)
Other assets	(16,114		)	(13,803		)
Deferred tax liability, noncurrent	(241,486		)	(218,136		)
Net deferred tax liability, noncurrent	(128,360		)	(113,522		)
Total net deferred tax liability	$	(112,216	)	$	(88,741	)

At December 31, 2015, the Company had foreign tax credit carry forwards of approximately $42,100, expiring on various dates from 2016 through 2025, and net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $206,000 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 $41,000 for these carry forwards have been reduced by a valuation allowance of approximately $36,000 as it is more likely than not that these carry forwards will not be realized. The remainder of the valuation allowance at December 31, 2015 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, 2015, excess tax benefits of $4,610 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, 2015, the liability for uncertain tax positions was $20,238, excluding the related accrued interest liability of $2,567 and deferred tax assets of $5,257. 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, 2014	$	17,099
Increases related to current year tax positions	2,888
Increases related to prior year tax positions	607
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(344		)
Decreases due to lapse of statute of limitations	(12		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	20,238

Interest expense (net of the related deferred tax benefit) of $1,179 was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2015 and is included in income tax expense in the consolidated statement of income. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, 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, 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. 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 through 2013. 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 2013.