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Income Taxes
 12 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2023
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes INCOME TAXES
The provision for income taxes for the years ended November 30 consists of the following:
(millions)202320222021
Income taxes
Current
Federal$82.4 $62.8 $71.7 
State15.1 14.8 14.0 
International82.4 69.2 71.0 
 179.9 146.8 156.7 
Deferred
Federal(2.2)37.1 23.5 
State2.7 (3.2)16.8 
International(5.9)(12.1)(4.3)
 (5.4)21.8 36.0 
Total income tax expense (benefit)$174.5 $168.6 $192.7 
The components of income from consolidated operations before income taxes for the years ended November 30 follow:
(millions)202320222021
Pretax income
United States$569.6 $600.7 $588.1 
International229.1 212.1 307.7 
 $798.7 $812.8 $895.8 
A reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory rate with the effective tax rate for the years ended November 30 follows:
202320222021
Federal statutory tax rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %
State income taxes, net of federal benefits1.9 1.2 1.6 
International tax at different effective rates0.3 (0.1)0.8 
U.S. tax on remitted and unremitted earnings0.9 0.6 0.1 
Stock compensation expense— (1.1)(0.4)
Changes in prior year tax contingencies(0.8)(0.8)(2.5)
Acquisition-related state tax rate change, net of federal benefits— — 1.2 
Valuation allowance release(0.4)(0.6)(0.5)
U.S. research credits(1.5)(1.0)(0.8)
Other, net0.4 1.5 1.0 
Total21.8 %20.7 %21.5 %
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprised of the following as of November 30:
(millions)20232022
Deferred tax assets
Employee benefit liabilities$46.6 $49.9 
Other accrued liabilities38.8 36.1 
Inventory18.9 17.4 
Tax loss and credit carryforwards63.8 59.7 
Lease liabilities13.6 18.1 
Research expenditures31.4 — 
Other27.7 22.7 
Valuation allowance(25.9)(26.4)
 214.9 177.5 
Deferred tax liabilities
Depreciation99.5 93.0 
Intangible assets866.8 847.4 
Lease ROU assets13.2 12.3 
Other12.7 18.6 
 992.2 971.3 
Net deferred tax liability$(777.3)$(793.8)
At November 30, 2023, we have tax loss carryforwards of $171.0 million. Of these carryforwards, $11.8 million expire in 2024, $11.0 million from 2025 through 2026, $49.6 million from 2027 through 2040, and $98.6 million may be carried forward indefinitely. At November 30, 2023, we also have U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards of $6.5 million, $3.9 million, $4.2 million and $3.2 million which expire in 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033, respectively.
A valuation allowance has been provided to cover deferred tax assets that are not more likely than not realizable. The net decrease of $0.5 million in the valuation allowance from November 30, 2022 to November 30, 2023 resulted primarily from the net decrease of valuation allowances for net operating losses and other tax attributes in the U.S. and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions.
Our intent is to continue to reinvest undistributed earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries and joint ventures indefinitely. As of November 30, 2023, we have $1.5 billion of earnings that are considered indefinitely reinvested. We have not provided any deferred taxes with respect to items such as foreign withholding taxes, other income taxes, or foreign exchange gain or loss. It is not practicable for us to determine the amount of unrecognized tax expense on these reinvested international earnings.
The following table summarizes the activity related to our gross unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended November 30:
(millions)202320222021
Balance at beginning of year$25.1 $26.8 $39.3 
Additions for current year tax positions3.9 4.7 4.8 
Additions for prior year tax positions1.3 0.1 0.1 
Reductions of prior year tax positions(3.6)(0.8)(11.6)
Statute expirations(1.3)(5.0)(6.0)
Settlements(1.3)— (0.2)
Foreign currency translation(0.1)(0.7)0.4 
Balance at November 30$24.0 $25.1 $26.8 
As of November 30, 2023, 2022, and 2021, if recognized, $24.0 million, $25.1 million, and $26.8 million, respectively, of the unrecognized tax benefits would affect the effective rate.
We record interest and penalties on income taxes in income tax expense. We recognized interest and penalty expense (benefit) of $(0.5) million, $0.2 million, and $(3.7) million in 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. As of November 30, 2023 and 2022, we had accrued $3.8 million and $4.7 million, respectively, of interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits.

Tax settlements or statute of limitation expirations could result in a change to our uncertain tax positions. We believe that the reasonably possible total amount of unrecognized tax benefits as of November 30, 2023 that could
decrease in the next 12 months as a result of various statute expirations, audit closures and/or tax settlements would not be material.
We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and non-U.S. jurisdictions. The open years subject to tax audits vary depending on the tax jurisdictions. In the U.S federal jurisdiction, we are no longer subject to income tax audits by taxing authorities for years before 2019. In other major jurisdictions, we are no longer subject to income tax audits by taxing authorities for years before 2014.
We are under normal recurring tax audits in the U.S. and in several jurisdictions outside the U.S. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, we believe that our reserves for uncertain tax positions are adequate to cover existing risks and exposures.