INCOME TAXES

6 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2017

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 12. Income Taxes

The effective tax rate on consolidated pre-tax income was 35.6% and 33.3% for the three months ended July 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The effective tax rate on consolidated pre-tax income was 32.4% and 32.6% for the six months ended July 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The fluctuation in the effective tax rate primarily relates to the impact of noncontrolling interests. The Company expects the effective tax rate, for the remainder of fiscal year 2017, to be significantly lower than the current year to date levels as the Company expects to earn federal income tax credits from its refined coal operation (see Note 16).

The Company files a U.S. federal income tax return and various state income tax returns. In general, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state or local income tax examinations by tax authorities for years ended January 31, 2010 and prior. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, is as follows (amounts in thousands):

	Six Months Ended July 31,
	2017		2016
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of period	$	2,096	$	987
Changes for prior years’ tax positions		164		171
Changes for current year tax positions		-		-
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of period	$	2,260	$	1,158