Income Taxes

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015		2014
Domestic	$	500,757		$	566,444	$	384,853
Foreign	(45,932		)	16,350		12,175
Total	$	454,825		$	582,794	$	397,028

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015		2014
Current expense (benefit):
Federal	$	120,634		$	146,915	$	111,047
State	11,252			15,713		10,882
Foreign	22,946			14,508		13,837
	154,832			177,136		135,766
Deferred expense (benefit):
Federal	12,140			12,563		5,036
State	2,515			1,300		(1,373		)
Foreign	(3,013		)	5,753		(2,456		)
	11,642			19,616		1,207
Tax expense (benefit) relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest	(1,612		)	4,338		(7,818		)
Income tax expense	$	164,862		$	201,090	$	129,155

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
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	(1	)	(2	)	(2	)
Nontaxable income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1	)	(1	)	(1	)
Changes in the valuation allowance	5		1		1
Domestic production activity deduction	(3	)	(3	)	(2	)
Tax expense relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest, net of deferred tax benefits	(1	)	1		(1	)
Other	—		1		—
Effective income tax rate	36	%	34	%	32	%

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant components of deferred tax assets or liabilities at December 31, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:



	December 31,
	2016			2015
Deferred Tax Asset (Liability)
Noncurrent
NOLs and tax credit carry forwards	$	82,636		$	83,361
Compensation and benefit plans	49,710			45,312
Allowance for doubtful accounts	421			261
Fixed assets and intangible assets	46,595			35,781
Interest rate swap contracts	2,884			2,412
Accrued interest expense	11,567			11,692
Other liabilities	20,811			17,423
Deferred tax asset	214,624			196,242
Valuation allowance	(71,563		)	(54,336		)
Net deferred tax asset, noncurrent	143,061			141,906
Prepaid liabilities	(819		)	(820		)
Fixed assets and intangible assets	(78,616		)	(70,337		)
Investments in partnerships	(177,376		)	(154,215		)
Other assets	(23,444		)	(28,750		)
Deferred tax liability, noncurrent	(280,255		)	(254,122		)
Total net deferred tax liability	$	(137,194	)	$	(112,216	)

At December 31, 2016, the Company had foreign tax credit carry forwards of approximately $40,000, expiring on various dates from 2017 through 2026, and net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $208,000 related primarily to our foreign subsidiaries. Although the net operating loss carry forward periods range from 5 years to unlimited, the deferred tax assets of approximately $41,000 for these carry forwards have been reduced by a valuation allowance of approximately $39,000 as it is more likely than not that these carry forwards will not be realized. The remainder of the valuation allowance at December 31, 2016 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, 2016, excess tax benefits of $789 relating to share-based compensation awards and $1,609 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, 2016, the liability for uncertain tax positions was $18,065, excluding the related accrued interest liability of $3,044 and deferred tax assets of $6,375. 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, 2015	$	20,238
Increases related to current year tax positions	4,736
Increases related to prior year tax positions	892
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(317		)
Decreases due to lapse of statute of limitations	(7,484		)
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	18,065

Interest expense (net of the related deferred tax benefit) of $1,968 was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2016 and is included in income tax expense in the consolidated statement of income. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, 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 New York City Unincorporated Business Tax Return for 2014 and its General Corporation Tax Return for years 2011 and 2012. The State of Georgia is currently auditing the Company’s Corporation Tax Returns for years 2013 through 2015. The State of California is currently auditing the Company’s California Corporation Franchise or Income Tax Return for the years 2011 through 2013. The Internal Revenue Service is currently auditing the Company's U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return for 2013.