Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Components of income tax expense/(benefit) are as follows (amounts in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Current
Federal	$	248,172	$	256,545	$	254,021
Foreign		4,167		1,655		9,084
State		23,224		28,490		39,076
		275,563		286,690		302,181
Deferred
Federal and foreign		41,583		25,341		(21,408	)
State		7,525		3,278		(6,157	)
		49,108		28,619		(27,565	)
Total	$	324,671	$	315,309	$	274,616

Components of Deferred Taxes

The components of deferred taxes are as follows (amounts in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013
Deferred income tax assets:
Self-insurance reserves	$	84,915		$	87,483
Compensation accruals		55,788			49,302
State and foreign net operating loss carryforwards and other state and foreign deferred tax assets		60,521			57,204
Other currently non-deductible accrued liabilities		16,739			24,587
Net pension liability—OCI only		11,746			6,390
Doubtful accounts and other reserves		18,428			33,905
Other combined items—OCI only		2,615			9,018
		250,752			267,889
Less: Valuation Allowance		(52,764	)		(46,841	)
Net deferred income tax assets:		197,988			221,048
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Depreciable and amortizable assets		(362,674	)		(337,669	)
Other deferred tax liabilities		(2,963	)		(2,624	)
Net deferred income tax liabilities	$	(167,649	)	$	(119,245	)

Effective Tax Rates Calculation

The effective tax rates, as calculated by dividing the provision for income taxes by income before income taxes, were as follows for each of the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 (dollar amounts in thousands):

	2014			2013			2012
Provision for income taxes	$	324,671		$	315,309		$	274,616
Income before income taxes		929,667			869,332			763,663
Effective tax rate		34.9	%		36.3	%		36.0	%

Reconciliation Between Federal Statutory Rate and Effective Tax Rate

A reconciliation between the federal statutory rate and the effective tax rate is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Federal statutory rate		35.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%
State taxes, net of federal income tax benefit		2.3			2.5			3.0
Nondeductible transaction costs		—			—			0.2
Divestiture gain		—			0.3			—
Other items		—			0.4			0.1
Impact of income attributable to noncontrolling interests		(2.4	)		(1.9	)		(2.3	)
Effective tax rate		34.9	%		36.3	%		36.0	%

Net Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The net deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprised as follows (amounts in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013
Current deferred taxes
Assets	$	115,870		$	121,097
Liabilities		(1,305	)		(1,194	)
Total deferred taxes-current		114,565			119,903
Noncurrent deferred taxes
Assets		85,792			103,221
Liabilities		(368,006	)		(342,369	)
Total deferred taxes-noncurrent		(282,214	)		(239,148	)
Total deferred tax liabilities	$	(167,649	)	$	(119,245	)

Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The tabular reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 is as follows (amounts in thousands).

	As of December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Balance at January 1,	$	3,369		$	6,824		$	7,403
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year		50			50			200
Additions for tax positions of prior years		195			283			386
Reductions for tax positions of prior years		(1,212	)		(1,260	)		(1,165	)
Settlements		—			(2,528	)		—
Balance at December 31,	$	2,402		$	3,369		$	6,824