Income Taxes

Pretax income for 2015, 2014 and 2013 was taxed in the following jurisdictions:



	2015		2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Domestic	$	285,399	$	275,334	$	233,530
Foreign	106,946		117,106		119,599
Total	$	392,345	$	392,440	$	353,129

The provision (benefit) for income taxes for 2015, 2014 and 2013, was as follows:



	2015			2014			2013
	(In thousands)
Current
U.S.	$	73,059		$	77,454		$	59,707
State and local	6,188			7,133			8,123
Foreign	30,630			37,060			33,240
Total current	109,877			121,647			101,070
Deferred
U.S.	7,125			(3,176		)	1,500
State and local	(1,017		)	(1,708		)	(55		)
Foreign	(6,447		)	(3,709		)	(4,601		)
Total deferred	(339		)	(8,593		)	(3,156		)
Total provision for income taxes	$	109,538		$	113,054		$	97,914

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) at December 31, 2015 and 2014 were:



	2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Employee and retiree benefit plans	$	37,393		$	38,871
Depreciation and amortization	(185,321		)	(172,766		)
Inventories	12,615			11,229
Allowances and accruals	12,528			14,552
Interest rate exchange agreement	12,948			15,448
Other	2,800			4,626
Total	$	(107,037	)	$	(88,040	)

The deferred tax assets and liabilities recognized in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 were:



	2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Deferred tax asset — other current assets	$	—		$	39,305
Deferred tax asset — other noncurrent assets	3,446			3,080
Total deferred tax assets	3,446			42,385
Deferred tax liability — accrued expenses	—			(57		)
Noncurrent deferred tax liability — deferred income taxes	(110,483		)	(130,368		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(110,483		)	(130,425		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(107,037	)	$	(88,040	)

The provision for income taxes differs from the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to pretax income. The computed amount and the differences for 2015, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:



	2015			2014			2013
	(In thousands)
Pretax income	$	392,345		$	392,440		$	353,129
Provision for income taxes
Computed amount at statutory rate of 35%	$	137,321		$	137,354		$	123,595
State and local income tax (net of federal tax benefit)	5,033			4,875			4,382
Taxes on non-U.S. earnings-net of foreign tax credits	(11,663		)	(9,378		)	(9,683		)
Effect of flow-through entities	(8,358		)	(9,018		)	(7,267		)
U.S. business tax credits	(1,273		)	(1,680		)	(1,516		)
Domestic activities production deduction	(6,521		)	(7,489		)	(6,217		)
Deferred tax effect of foreign tax rate change	(2,636		)	—			—
Other	(2,365		)	(1,610		)	(5,380		)
Total provision for income taxes	$	109,538		$	113,054		$	97,914

The Company has $715 million and $683 million of undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. No deferred U.S. income taxes have been provided on these earnings as they are considered to be reinvested for an indefinite period of time or will be repatriated when it is tax effective to do so. If these amounts were distributed to the U.S., in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company would be subject to additional U.S. income taxes, which could be material. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred income tax liabilities on these earnings is not practicable because of the complexities with the hypothetical calculation, and the amount of liability, if any, is dependent on circumstances if and when remittance occurs. During the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company repatriated $14.3 million, $6.5 million and $11.7 million of foreign earnings, respectively, resulting in $0.3 million of incremental tax expense, $0.2 million of incremental tax benefit and $0.9 million of incremental income tax expense, respectively. These repatriations represent distributions of current year earnings and distributions from liquidating subsidiaries and do not impact our representation that the undistributed earnings are permanently invested.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits for 2015, 2014 and 2013 is as follows:



	2015			2014			2013
	(In thousands)
Beginning balance January 1	$	3,619		$	5,124		$	6,506
Gross increase due to non-U.S. acquisitions	3,772			—			—
Gross increases for tax positions of prior years	1,256			834			1,357
Gross decreases for tax positions of prior years	—			(51		)	(99		)
Settlements	(667		)	(2,057		)	(1,219		)
Lapse of statute of limitations	(752		)	(231		)	(1,421		)
Ending balance December 31	$	7,228		$	3,619		$	5,124

We recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. As of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, we had approximately $0.2 million, $0.7 million and $0.5 million, respectively, of accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions. As of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, we had approximately $0.3 million, $0.3 million and $0.2 million, respectively, of accrued penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that would affect our effective tax rate if recognized is $3.0 million, $2.9 million and $4.5 million as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The tax years 2009-2014 remain open to examination by major taxing jurisdictions. Due to the potential for resolution of federal, state and foreign examinations, and the expiration of various statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible that the Company’s gross unrecognized tax benefits balance may change within the next 12 months by a range of zero to $3.5 million.

The Company had net operating loss carry forwards related to prior acquisitions for U.S. federal purposes at December 31, 2015 and 2014 of $4.8 million and $7.1 million, respectively. For non-U.S. purposes the Company had net operating loss carry forwards at December 31, 2015 and 2014 of $1.6 million and $5.0 million, respectively. The federal net operating loss carry forwards are available for use against the Company’s consolidated federal taxable income and expire between 2018 and 2031. The entire balance of the non-U.S. net operating losses is available to be carried forward.

At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had a foreign capital loss carry forward of approximately $0.9 million and $1.0 million, respectively. The foreign capital loss can be carried forward indefinitely. At both December 31, 2015 and 2014 the Company has a valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset attributable to the foreign capital loss of $0.2 million. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had state net operating loss and credit carry forwards of approximately $27.0 million and $23.7 million, respectively. If unutilized, the state net operating loss will expire between 2019 and 2035. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company recorded a valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset attributable to the state net operating loss of $1.0 million and $0.8 million, respectively.