INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign

The domestic and foreign components of income before (benefit) provision for income taxes were as follows (in thousands):



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Domestic	$	101,714		$	87,328		$	164,105
Foreign	(43,025		)	(78,612		)	(54,459		)
Total	$	58,689		$	8,716		$	109,646

Schedule of Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The (benefit) provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Current:
Federal	$	25,613		$	14,798		$	46,775
State	11,083			8,763			11,120
Foreign	4,589			9,844			5,719
	41,285			33,405			63,614
Deferred
Federal	(85,488		)	21,814			12,254
State	1,085			1,644			2,766
Foreign	1,068			(8,274		)	(13,090		)
	(83,335		)	15,184			1,930
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$	(42,050	)	$	48,589		$	65,544

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

The effective income tax rate varied from the amount computed using the statutory federal income tax rate as follows (in thousands):



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2017			2016		2015
Tax expense at US statutory rate	$	20,541		$	3,051	$	38,376
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	4,547			6,010		8,449
Foreign rate differential	3,733			3,646		3,951
Valuation allowance	16,552			22,564		1,824
Uncertain tax position interest and penalties	3,730			107		32
Goodwill impairment	—			11,905		10,974
Other	1,856			1,306		1,938
Adjustment for Tax Cuts and Jobs Act	(93,009		)	—		—
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$	(42,050	)	$	48,589	$	65,544

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The components of the total net deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows (in thousands):



	2017			2016
Deferred tax assets:
Provision for doubtful accounts	7,417			11,189
Closure, post-closure and remedial liabilities	28,189			40,829
Accrued expenses	15,382			19,826
Accrued compensation	1,903			2,747
Net operating loss carryforwards(1)	46,650			46,752
Tax credit carryforwards(2)	17,504			25,348
Uncertain tax positions accrued interest and federal benefit	921			1,241
Stock-based compensation	2,268			1,993
Other	3,258			555
Total deferred tax assets	123,492			150,480
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	(144,325		)	(207,799		)
Permits and other intangible assets	(107,407		)	(161,295		)
Prepaids	(8,080		)	(11,030		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(259,812		)	(380,124		)
Total net deferred tax liability before valuation allowance	(136,320		)	(229,644		)
Less valuation allowance	(68,355		)	(55,189		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(204,675	)	$	(284,833	)

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(1)	As of December 31, 2017, the net operating loss carryforwards included (i) state net operating loss carryovers of $186.7 million which will begin to expire in 2018, (ii) federal net operating loss carryforwards of $48.0 million which will begin to expire in 2025, and (iii) foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $116.1 million which will begin to expire in 2018.


(2)	As of December 31, 2017, the foreign tax credit carryforwards of $17.5 million will expire between 2020 and 2024.

Summary of Income Tax Contingencies

The changes to unrecognized tax benefits (excluding related penalties and interest) from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017, were as follows (in thousands):



	2017			2016			2015
Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1	$	1,738		$	2,064		$	2,537
Additions to current year tax positions	1,457			—			—
Additions to prior year tax positions	2,031			—			—
Settlements	(231		)	(533		)	(217		)
Foreign currency translation	126			207			(256		)
Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31	$	5,121		$	1,738		$	2,064