Income Taxes

Significant components of the Income tax (expense) benefit on earnings from continuing operations were as follows:



For the years ended December 31,	2018			2017			2016
Current:
United States	$	(32,861	)	$	28,091		$	2,285
Foreign	(92,275		)	(99,127		)	(69,609		)
State	(262		)	(400		)	(166		)
Total current	(125,398		)	(71,436		)	(67,490		)
Deferred:
United States	10,536			124,043			(2,226		)
Foreign	(18,137		)	27,216			32,786
State	(161		)	11,485			2,490
Total deferred	(7,762		)	162,744			33,050
Total income tax (expense) benefit	$	(133,160	)	$	91,308		$	(34,440	)

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, foreign income from continuing operations before income taxes was $671,491, $252,448 and $879,257, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, domestic loss from continuing operations before income taxes was $543,059, $323,070 and $512,167, respectively.

Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities arising from continuing operations were as follows:



December 31,	2018			2017
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforwards	$	597,286		$	674,088
Depreciation	81,999			99,455
Deferred revenue	56,004			56,651
Allowance for doubtful accounts	21,413			25,525
Deferred compensation	30,818			42,684
Unrealized loss	74,972			56,857
Nondeductible reserves	41,160			40,001
Interest	17,652			17,457
Other	—			923
Total deferred tax assets	921,304			1,013,641
Deferred tax liabilities:
Investment in subsidiaries	97,208			101,437
Amortization of intangible assets	253,147			295,410
Other	1,829			—
Total deferred tax liabilities	352,184			396,847
Net deferred tax assets	569,120			616,794
Valuation allowance for net deferred tax assets	(650,191		)	(711,767		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(81,071	)	$	(94,973	)

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted in December 2017. Among other provisions, the TCJA reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018, required companies to pay a one-time transition tax on previously unremitted earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creates new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings. The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 118, which provides guidance on accounting for enactment effects of the TCJA. SAB 118 provided a measurement period of up to one year from the TCJA’s enactment date for companies to complete their accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, to the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the TCJA was incomplete but it was able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate in its financial statements. If a company could not determine a provisional estimate to be included in its financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the TCJA. With the expiration of SAB118, Laureate’s provisional estimates are now final. With the exception of an immaterial adjustment to the transition tax and its offsetting effects with certain valuation allowances, there were no changes to the provisional amounts or assertions.

In connection with Laureate’s initial analysis of the impact of the enactment of the TCJA, the Company recorded a net tax benefit of $135,700 in the fourth quarter of 2017. Of this amount, $82,400 related to the rate change and $53,300 related to the valuation allowance release, net of rate adjustment, on the deferred tax assets other than net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) that, when realized, may become indefinite-lived NOLs. In 2018, we made adjustments to line items within the 2017 rate reconciliation of approximately $3,600 in connection with the allocation of the effects of the TCJA to entities in discontinued operations. Laureate has completed its accounting for the income tax effects of the TCJA, several of which are detailed immediately below.

Transition tax: The transition tax is a tax on previously untaxed accumulated and current earnings and profits (E&P) at December 31, 2017 of certain of the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries. To determine the amount of the transition tax, Laureate determined, in addition to other factors, the amount of post-1986 E&P of the relevant subsidiaries, as well as the amount of non-U.S. income taxes paid on such earnings. Further, the transition tax is based in part on the amount of those earnings held in cash and other specified assets. Laureate was able to make a reasonable estimate of the transition tax and recorded a provisional obligation resulting in additional tax expense of $149,800 in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, Laureate was able to offset this liability with current year losses and, under alternative minimum tax, up to 90% of the remaining liability, with pre-2017 net operating losses, resulting in a net liability of $3,200. Additionally, the TCJA repeals the corporate alternative minimum tax prospectively. Thus, Laureate recorded a deferred tax asset for an amount equal to the payable under the alternative minimum tax, resulting in no net income tax expense related to the transition tax. During the fourth quarter of 2018, Laureate updated the calculation of the transition tax for the income tax return filing and made adjustments to the 2017 amounts in connection with the allocation of the effects of the TCJA to entities in discontinued operations.

Remeasurement of deferred tax assets/liabilities: Laureate remeasured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities in the fourth quarter of 2017 based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21% under the TCJA, and recorded a tax benefit in the amount of $82,400. Additionally, Laureate recorded a tax benefit in the fourth quarter of 2017 related to the valuation allowance release, net of rate adjustment, on the deferred tax assets other than NOLs that, when realized, will become indefinite-lived NOLs in the amount of $53,300. Laureate has analyzed certain aspects of the TCJA, including state conformity, considering additional technical guidance, and refining its calculations, which affected the measurement of these balances or gave rise to new deferred tax amounts. The blended state tax rates for the U.S., 6.63% (current) and 6.61% (deferred), are calculated using the apportionment percentages from our most recently filed tax returns (2017) and the highest applicable state tax rate. This rate is applied to all items, except that the NOL utilization related to Global Intangibles Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) is 4.11% (deferred) and is applied using the blended rate of only those states that conform to federal GILTI provisions.

GILTI: Laureate considered the potential impacts of the GILTI provision within the TCJA on deferred tax assets/liabilities. Laureate elected to account for GILTI as period costs if and when incurred. For the year ended December 31, 2018, Laureate is including in its taxable income GILTI of $545,000, for continued and discontinued operations. Additionally, because there is no incremental cash tax impact of the GILTI inclusion, Laureate is electing to use the incremental cash tax savings approach when determining whether a valuation allowance needs to be recorded against the U.S. NOL due to the GILTI inclusions. Accordingly, the Company has maintained a full valuation allowance on its pre-2017 U.S. NOL.

Permanent Reinvestment: Laureate also considered other impacts of the 2017 enactment of the TCJA including, but not limited to, effects on the Company’s indefinite-reinvestment assertion. Laureate previously has not provided deferred taxes on unremitted earnings attributable to international companies that have been considered to be reinvested indefinitely. Laureate analyzed the full effects of the TCJA, and maintained its indefinite-reinvestment assertions for the year ending December 31, 2017. At December 31, 2018, and 2017, undistributed earnings from foreign subsidiaries totaled $2,921,922 and $2,081,927, respectively.

At December 31, 2018 we are making a change to our assertion. Except as discussed below regarding one institution in Peru, all historical earnings are permanently reinvested. A portion of the historical earnings of the institution in Peru are no longer needed to be retained in that market. The Company has determined this amount to be approximately $50,000 USD of earnings, based on the value of the upstream loan that institution has made to our Dutch entities, which are no longer needed to support the Peruvian institution’s cash needs, and therefore should be earmarked as a dividend. The Company has recorded a deferred tax liability of $2,500 to account for the withholding taxes on this eventual distribution. If the Company were to remove its assertion on the remaining unremitted earnings, we would record approximately $13,500 in deferred tax liabilities.

During 2018, certain entities and jurisdictions were designated as discontinued operations or held for sale. These entities can no longer assert permanent reinvestment. Thus, an analysis was performed to calculate any deferred taxes required to be recorded on the outside basis which will be recovered upon the sales of these entities. In the third quarter, we estimated global deferred tax liabilities of $3,200. The majority of the basis differences can be recovered tax free due to our efficient investment structure, treaty benefits or tax exempt transactions. In the fourth quarter, we have refined this global estimate to $4,800.

Approximately 67.74% (44.76% federal and 22.98% states) of our worldwide NOLs as of December 31, 2018 originated in the United States, derived from both federal and various state jurisdictions. The United States federal NOLs will begin to expire in 2027.

The valuation allowance relates to the uncertainty surrounding the realization of tax benefits primarily attributable to NOLs of the parent company and of certain foreign subsidiaries, and future deductible temporary differences that are available only to offset future taxable income of subsidiaries in certain jurisdictions.

The Company assesses the realizability of deferred tax assets by examining all available evidence, both positive and negative. A valuation allowance is recorded if negative evidence outweighs positive evidence. A company’s three-year cumulative loss position is significant negative evidence in considering whether deferred tax assets are realizable. Accounting guidance restricts the amount of reliance the Company can place on projected taxable income to support the recovery of the deferred tax assets. In 2017, the Company's valuation allowance was changed due to the impact of the TCJA. The major drivers of the change in balance were: impact of the US rate change in the amount of $215,600, utilization of the prior year NOLs against continued and discontinued operations in the amount of $53,600 and valuation allowance release, net of rate adjustment, on the deferred tax assets other than NOLs that when realized will become indefinite-lived NOLs in the amount of $53,300. In 2018, we made adjustments to line items within the 2017 rate reconciliation in connection with the allocation of the effects of the TCJA to entities in discontinued operations.

The reconciliations of the beginning and ending balances of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets were as follows:



For the years ended December 31,	2018			2017			2016
Balance at beginning of period	$	711,767		$	1,090,710		$	1,033,216
(Deductions) additions to costs and expenses	(23,814		)	(19,530		)	44,116
Charges to other accounts
Additions ^(a)	—			—			13,378
Deductions ^(b)	(37,762		)	(359,413		)	—
Balance at end of period	$	650,191		$	711,767		$	1,090,710

^(a) Charges to other accounts includes reclassifications and foreign currency translation.

^(b) Deductions include reclassifications and foreign currency translation, and TCJA-related adjustments described in the paragraph above.

The reconciliations of the reported Income tax (expense) benefit to the amount that would result by applying the United States federal statutory tax rate of 21% to income from continuing operations before income taxes were as follows:



For the years ended December 31,	2018			2017			2016
Tax (expense) benefit at the United States statutory rate	$	(26,971	)	$	24,718		$	(128,482	)
Permanent differences	21,704			(21,628		)	(21,636		)
State income tax benefit, net of federal tax effect	(335		)	(1,154		)	1,510
Tax effect of foreign income taxed at lower rate	16,843			34,652			71,347
Change in valuation allowance	(74,267		)	(111,856		)	(47,863		)
Effect of tax contingencies	4,985			10,980			26,610
Tax credits	13,688			19,829			19,399
Withholding taxes	(58,095		)	3,901			(26,163		)
U.S. tax on repatriated earnings	—			(875		)	(67,796		)
Impairments	(649		)	—			—
Sale of subsidiaries	—			—			139,335
Impact of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
Transition tax on unremitted earnings	—			(160,567		)	—
Tax effect of rate changes	—			82,392			—
Change in valuation allowance	9,354			201,946			—
State income tax benefit, net of federal tax effect	(5,350		)	8,360			—
GILTI	(34,650		)	—			—
Other	583			610			(701		)
Total income tax (expense) benefit	$	(133,160	)	$	91,308		$	(34,440	)

We have made certain adjustments to the 2017 rate reconciliation above in connection with the allocation of the effects of the TCJA to entities in discontinued operations.

The withholding tax amounts shown in the table above include a benefit for 2017 of approximately $30,000 and expense for 2018 of approximately ($27,000) related to the redesignation of certain intercompany loans to reflect the impact in changes in the Company's business, including divestitures and financing.

The reconciliations of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits were as follows:



For the years ended December 31,	2018			2017			2016
Beginning of the period	$	82,906		$	82,852		$	77,179
Additions for tax positions related to prior years	4,379			5,997			12,812
Decreases for tax positions related to prior years	(1,541		)	(10,095		)	(3,440		)
Additions for tax positions related to current year	9,725			11,551			14,795
Decreases for unrecognized tax benefits as a result of a lapse in the statute of limitations	(5,282		)	(7,355		)	(10,514		)
Settlements for tax positions related to prior years	(27,574		)	(44		)	(7,980		)
End of the period	$	62,613		$	82,906		$	82,852

Laureate records interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as a component of Income tax expense. During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, Laureate recognized interest and penalties related to income taxes of $5,008, $5,985 and $8,318, respectively. Laureate had $28,224 and $39,058 of accrued interest and penalties at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, Laureate derecognized $15,618, $8,584 and $25,056, respectively, of previously accrued interest and penalties. Approximately $24,650 of unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, will affect the effective income tax rate. It is reasonably possible that Laureate’s unrecognized tax benefits may decrease within the next 12 months by up to approximately $11,300 as a result of the lapse of statutes of limitations and as a result of the final settlement and resolution of outstanding tax matters in various jurisdictions.

Laureate and various subsidiaries file income tax returns in the United States federal jurisdiction, and in various states and foreign jurisdictions. With few exceptions, Laureate is no longer subject to United States federal, state and local, or foreign income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2009. United States federal and state statutes are generally open back to 2015; however, the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) has the ability to challenge 2005 through 2014 net operating loss carryforwards. Statutes of other major jurisdictions, such as Brazil, Chile and Spain, except as discussed below, are open back to 2014, and Mexico is open back to 2009.

ICE Audit

During 2010 and 2013, Laureate was notified by the Spain Tax Authorities (STA) that two tax audits of our Spanish subsidiaries were being initiated for 2006 through 2007, and for 2008 through 2010, respectively. On June 29, 2012, the STA issued a final assessment to ICE, our Spanish holding company, for EUR 11,051 (US $12,605 at December 31, 2018), including interest, for the 2006 through 2007 period. Laureate has appealed this final assessment related to the 2006 through 2007 period and issued a cash-collateralized letter of credit in July 2012, in order to continue the appeal process. In October 2015, the STA issued a final assessment to ICE for the 2008 through 2010 period for approximately EUR 17,187 (US $19,603 at December 31, 2018), including interest, for those three years. In order to continue the appeals process, we issued cash-collateralized letters of credit for the 2008 to 2010 period assessment amount, plus interest and surcharges. As of December 31, 2017, we had issued cash-collateralized letters of credit for the ICE tax audit matters of EUR 33,282 (approximately US $39,500), as also described in Note 12, Commitments and Contingencies.

During the second quarter of 2015, the Company reassessed its position regarding the ICE tax audit matters as a result of recent adverse decisions from the Spanish Supreme Court and the Spanish National Court on cases for taxpayers with similar facts and determined that it could no longer support a more-likely-than-not position. As a result, during 2015, the Company recorded a provision totaling EUR 37,610 (approximately US $42,100). The Company plans to continue the appeals process for the periods already audited and assessed. During the second quarter of 2016, we were notified by the STA that tax audits of the Spanish subsidiaries were also being initiated for 2011 and 2012, and in July 2017 the tax audit was extended to include 2013. Also, during the second quarter of 2016, the Regional Administrative Court issued a decision against the Company on its appeal. The Company has further appealed at the Highest Administrative Court level, which appeal was rejected on January 23, 2018. The Company has appealed both decisions to the National Court. In the first quarter of 2018, the Company made payments to the Spanish Tax Authorities (STA) totaling approximately EUR 29,600 (approximately $33,800 at December 31, 2018) in order to reduce the amount of future interest that could be incurred as the appeals process continues. The payments were made using the restricted cash that collateralized the letters of credit and reduced the liability that had been recorded for this income tax contingency.

In October of 2018, the STA issued a final assessment to ICE for the 2011 through 2013 period totaling approximately EUR 4,100 (approximately US $4,700 at December 31, 2018), including interest. The Company has posted a cash-collateralized letter of credit of approximately $5,700 for the assessment, plus a surcharge, as of December 31, 2018.

Chile Tax Reform

On September 29, 2014, Chile enacted major income tax law changes. The significant change affecting the Company was the increase in income tax rates, which were retroactive to January 2014. The tax rates increased from 21% to 22.5% in 2015, 24% in 2016, 25.5% in 2017 and 27% in 2018 and beyond. Deferred taxes were revalued and a benefit of approximately $2,967, $850, $2,700, and $6,100 was recorded in 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. Prior to 2015, the law also included two alternative methods for computing shareholder-level income taxation. During 2015, the law changed to include one method for computing shareholder-level income taxation.