INCOME TAXES

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



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Domestic	$	128,201	$	161,969	$	57,763
Foreign	56,477		26,388		5,742
Total	$	184,678	$	188,357	$	63,505

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



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Current:
Federal	$	16,285		$	48,974		$	12,059
State	6,002			10,397			3,163
Foreign	(2,697		)	(5,687		)	6,868
	19,590			53,684			22,090
Deferred
Federal	22,455			1,207			4,965
State	2,710			(647		)	968
Foreign	12,671			3,598			(1,204		)
	37,836			4,158			4,729
Net provision for income taxes	$	57,426		$	57,842		$	26,819

The Company's effective tax rate (including taxes on income from discontinued operations in 2010 and 2009) for fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009 was 31 percent, 31 percent and 42 percent, respectively. 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,
	2011			2010			2009
Tax expense at statutory rate	$	64,637		$	65,925		$	22,227
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	5,788			6,966			2,067
Foreign rate differential	(10,229		)	(6,752		)	(4,213		)
Non-deductible transaction costs	416			—			1,921
Uncertain tax position releases, net of benefit	(6,156		)	(14,282		)	—
Uncertain tax position interest and penalties, net of benefit	2,240			2,636			3,482
Other	730			3,349			1,335
Net provision for income taxes	$	57,426		$	57,842		$	26,819

The components of the total net deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows (in thousands):



	2011			2010
Deferred tax assets:
Workers compensation accrual	$	5,011		$	4,750
Provision for doubtful accounts	4,803			8,191
Closure, post-closure and remedial liabilities	31,082			35,885
Accrued expenses	13,635			11,960
Accrued compensation	2,279			1,394
Net operating loss carryforwards(1)	23,663			2,246
Tax credit carryforwards(2)	19,977			17,324
Uncertain tax positions accrued interest and federal benefit	11,462			10,341
Stock-based compensation	1,884			2,749
Other	4,421			4,359
Total deferred tax asset	118,217			99,199
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	(114,115		)	(64,626		)
Permits and customer databases	(20,547		)	(19,412		)
Total deferred tax liability	(134,662		)	(84,038		)
Total net deferred tax (liability) asset before valuation allowance	(16,445		)	15,161
Less valuation allowance	(11,473		)	(12,919		)
Net deferred tax (liability) asset	$	(27,918	)	$	2,242

___________________________________

(1)

As of December 31, 2011, the net operating loss carryforwards included (i) state net operating loss carryovers of $18.7 million which begin to expire in 2019 and federal net operating loss carryforwards of $15.3 million which begin to expire in 2028, and (ii) Canadian net operating losses of $65.8 million which begin to expire in 2026 and other foreign net operating losses of $0.8 million which begin to expire in 2013.


(2)	As of December 31, 2011, foreign tax credit carryforwards of $20.0 million expire between 2012 and 2021 as follows:



Years Ending December 31,	Expected Amount
2012	$	788
2013	4,828
2014	3,687
2015	682
2016	1,164
Thereafter	8,828
	$	19,977

During 2011, the Company decreased taxes payable for adjustments related to realized and recognized tax benefits of $16.2 million related to exercises of non-qualified stock options and the vesting of restricted stock of which $3.3 million resulted in an increase to additional paid-in capital.

The Company does not accrue U.S. tax for foreign earnings that it considers to be permanently reinvested outside the United States. Consequently, the Company has not provided any U.S. tax on the unremitted earnings of its foreign subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, the amount of earnings for which no repatriation tax has been provided was $105.4 million and $52.7 million, respectively. It is not practicable to estimate the amount of additional tax that might be payable on those earnings if repatriated.

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, 2011 and 2010, the Company had a valuation allowance of $11.5 million and $12.9 million, respectively. The decrease in the valuation allowance is due to the partial release of a valuation allowance on foreign tax credits of $1.1 million. The allowance as of December 31, 2011 consisted of $10.2 million of foreign tax credits, $1.1 million of state net operating loss carryforwards and $0.2 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards. The allowance as of December 31, 2010 consisted of $11.3 million of foreign tax credits, $1.4 million of state net operating loss carryforwards and $0.2 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards.

On August 10, 2010, Congress enacted the Education Jobs & Medicaid Assistance Act which became effective January 1, 2011. The Act contains various provisions that attempt to limit a taxpayer's ability to fully claim tax credits for previously paid foreign taxes when determining the taxpayer's U.S. income tax liability. The Company continues to permanently reinvest its foreign earnings and is carrying a valuation allowance of $10.2 million for foreign tax credits. The Company will continue to assess the future impact of the Act on its earnings and its ability to utilize foreign tax credits in the future.

The reform of U.S. taxation, including taxation of foreign sourced income, continues to be a topic of discussion for Congress. A significant change to the U.S. tax system, including the taxation of international income, could have a material effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations.

Included in the balance of liabilities for uncertain tax positions at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $63.0 million and $65.9 million, respectively, of unrecognized tax benefits (including interest and penalties) that, if recognized, would affect the annual effective income tax rate.

The Company's policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. The liability for unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2011 included accrued interest and penalties of $20.2 million and $6.6 million, respectively. Interest expense that is recorded as a tax expense against the liability for unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 included interest and penalties of $3.4 million, $4.1 million and $4.7 million, respectively.

The changes to unrecognized tax benefits (excluding related penalties and interest) from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2011, were as follows (in thousands):



	2011			2010			2009		Description
Unrecognized tax benefits as of January 1	$	39,709		$	48,178		$	46,480
Gross increases in tax positions in prior periods	—			—			124		Additional state liabilities
Gross adjustments in tax positions	(302		)	498			—		Additional Canadian liabilities
Gross increases due to current year acquisitions	376			—			—		Additional U.S. liabilities
Settlements	(75		)	—			—		Required payments
Lapse of statute of limitations	(3,436		)	(8,929		)	—		U.S. and Canadian
Foreign currency translation	(55		)	(38		)	1,574		Currency translation adjustment
Unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31	$	36,217		$	39,709		$	48,178

Total unrecognized tax benefits, other than adjustments for additional accruals for interest and penalties and foreign currency translation, decreased by approximately $6.5 million. The $6.5 million (which included interest and penalties of $2.7 million) was recorded in earnings and therefore impacted the effective income tax rate. Approximately $5.7 million was due to expiring statute of limitation periods related to a historical Canadian business combination, $0.3 million was related to change in estimate of a previous liability, and the remaining $0.5 million was related to the conclusion of examinations with state taxing authorities and the expiration of various state statute of limitation periods.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had recorded $36.2 million of liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits and $26.8 million related to interest and penalties. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had recorded $39.7 million of liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits and $26.2 million related to interest and penalties.

The Company files U.S. federal income tax returns as well as income tax returns in various states and foreign jurisdictions. The Company may be subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") for calendar years 2005 through 2011. 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 2004 through 2011. The Company is currently not under examination by the IRS. 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, the Company believes that total unrecognized tax benefits will not materially change in the next 12 months.