INCOME TAXES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

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



	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Domestic	$	156,571		$	115,070		$	101,714
Foreign	(8,332		)	(20,588		)	(43,025		)
Total	$	148,239		$	94,482		$	58,689

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



	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Current:
Federal	$	20,482		$	(7,677	)	$	25,613
State	14,564			12,653			11,083
Foreign	7,448			4,781			4,589
	42,494			9,757			41,285
Deferred
Federal	7,933			19,899			(85,488		)
State	550			(1,205		)	1,085
Foreign	(478		)	395			1,068
	8,005			19,089			(83,335		)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	50,499		$	28,846		$	(42,050	)

The Company's effective tax rate for fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017 was 34.1%, 30.5% and (71.6)%, respectively. The effective income tax rate varied from the amount computed using the statutory federal income tax rate as follows (in thousands):



	For the years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Tax expense at US statutory rate	$	31,130		$	19,841		$	20,541
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	10,597			8,711			4,547
Foreign rate differential	276			(1,124		)	3,733
Valuation allowance	4,459			10,466			16,552
Uncertain tax position interest and penalties	474			(1,806		)	3,730
Tax credits	(50		)	(9,799		)	—
Non-deductible compensation	1,922			1,813			256
Other	1,691			1,032			1,600
Adjustment for Tax Cuts and Jobs Act	—			(288		)	(93,009		)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	50,499		$	28,846		$	(42,050	)

Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) signed into law on December 22, 2017, the statutory rate in effect was 21% in 2019 and 2018, compared to 35% in 2017.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company calculated its best estimate of the impact of the Tax Act in its year-end income tax provision in accordance with its understanding of the Tax Act and guidance available as of the date of the 2017 Form 10-K filing and as a result recorded a net benefit of $93.0 million as a component of the 2017 income tax expense. This provisional net income tax benefit was comprised of a $100.5 million tax benefit for the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities to the 21% rate at which they are expected to reverse, offset by a one-time tax expense on deemed repatriation of $7.5 million. This one-time charge was after the utilization of $7.5 million of foreign tax credits which had full valuation allowances applied to them previously.

During 2018, the Company completed its analysis of impacts of the Tax Act and specific to the one-time deemed repatriation, adjusted the previous amount recorded of $7.5 million to $6.6 million resulting in a $0.9 million benefit to tax expense recorded in 2018. The Company also recorded the final remeasurement of its deferred tax assets and liabilities and adjusted the deferred tax benefit from $100.5 million to $99.9 million or approximately $0.6 million of deferred expense recorded in 2018. The total net impact of changes in tax law resulted in a net benefit of approximately $0.3 million in 2018.

During 2018, the Company also completed an analysis of certain federal manufacturing and research and development credit benefits for tax years 2014 through 2017. Upon the filing of its 2017 tax return in October 2018, the Company recognized $3.3 million of tax benefits and recognized an additional $7.1 million upon the amendments of its 2014 through 2016 tax returns for a net benefit recorded as a component of the 2018 tax provision of $9.8 million (shown as Tax credits in the table above).

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company recorded $5.0 million of tax benefits related to tax deductible foreign currency losses to accumulated other comprehensive loss and as such these benefits are not included within the provision (benefit) for income taxes.

The components of the total net deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows (in thousands):



	2019			2018
Deferred tax assets:
Provision for doubtful accounts	$	8,949		$	10,715
Closure, post-closure and remedial liabilities	26,960			28,380
Operating lease liabilities	40,879			—
Accrued expenses	17,602			15,686
Accrued compensation	7,155			7,774
Net operating loss carryforwards⁽¹⁾	50,824			43,284
Tax credit carryforwards⁽²⁾	16,909			16,909
Uncertain tax positions accrued interest and federal benefit	4,176			519
Stock-based compensation	2,435			3,440
Other	10,418			7,067
Total deferred tax assets	186,307			133,774
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	(184,594		)	(164,246		)
Operating lease right-of-use assets	(40,985		)	—
Permits and other intangible assets	(98,654		)	(103,539		)
Prepaid expenses	(9,694		)	(9,187		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(333,927		)	(276,972		)
Total net deferred tax liability before valuation allowance	(147,620		)	(143,198		)
Less valuation allowance	(83,643		)	(79,295		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(231,263	)	$	(222,493	)

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(1)	As of December 31, 2019, the net operating loss carryforwards included (i) state net operating loss carryovers of $201.8 million which will begin to expire in 2020, (ii) federal net operating loss carryforwards of $25.5 million which will begin to expire in 2025 and (iii) foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $145.0 million which will begin to expire in 2020.


(2)	As of December 31, 2019, the foreign tax credit carryforwards of $16.6 million will expire between 2020 and 2024.

The Company has not accrued for any remaining undistributed foreign earnings. These amounts continue to be indefinitely reinvested in foreign operations.

A valuation allowance is required to be established when, based on an evaluation of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company had a valuation allowance of $83.6 million and $79.3 million, respectively. The total allowance as of December 31, 2019 consisted of $16.5 million of foreign tax credits, $0.8 million of acquired federal net operating losses, $10.7 million of state net operating loss carryforwards, $34.1 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards, $14.9 million of deferred tax assets of a Canadian subsidiary and $6.6 million of realized and unrealized capital losses. The allowance as of December 31, 2018 consisted of $16.5 million of foreign tax credits, $0.8 million of acquired federal net operating losses, $9.6 million of state net operating loss carryforwards and $22.7 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards, $26.6 million of deferred tax assets of a Canadian subsidiary and $3.1 million of unrealized capital losses.

The changes to unrecognized tax benefits (excluding related penalties and interest) from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019, were as follows (in thousands):



	2019			2018			2017
Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1	$	3,159		$	5,121		$	1,738
Additions to current year tax positions	—			—			1,457
(Reductions) additions to prior year tax positions	3,354			(625		)	2,031
Expirations	(209		)	(1,115		)	(231		)
Foreign currency translation	110			(222		)	126
Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31	$	6,414		$	3,159		$	5,121

At December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company had recorded $6.4 million, $3.2 million and $5.1 million, respectively, of unrecognized tax benefits that if recognized would affect the annual effective tax rate. The Company recorded $3.1 million of unrecognized tax benefits for Canadian Revenue Agency transfer pricing adjustments for which relief from double taxation has been requested. Therefore, an offsetting benefit of $3.1 million was also recorded resulting in no effect on the annual effective tax rate.

At December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 the Company has accrued interest of $1.7 million, $0.8 million and $0.9 million, respectively, relative to unrecognized tax benefits. Interest expense that is recorded as a tax expense against the liability for unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 included interest and penalties of $0.9 million, $(0.1) million and $0.5 million, respectively.

The Company files U.S. federal income tax returns as well as income tax returns in various states and foreign jurisdictions. The Company’s tax years 2014-2016 are currently under review by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). The Company does not believe the examination will result in material adjustments to previously filed returns. Additionally, any net operating losses that were generated in prior years and utilized in these years may also be subject to examination by the IRS. The Company may also be subject to examinations by state and local revenue authorities for calendar years 2014 through 2018. The Company has ongoing U.S. state and local jurisdictional audits, as well as Canadian federal and provincial audits, all of which the Company believes will not result in material liabilities.

Due to expiring statute of limitation periods and the resolution of tax audits, the Company believes that total unrecognized tax benefits will decrease by approximately $0.2 million within the next 12 months.