Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Schedule of components of the Income tax (expense) benefit

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



For the years ended December 31,	2017			2016			2015
Current:
United States	$	28,091		$	2,285		$	(7,174	)
Foreign	(99,127		)	(69,609		)	(104,514		)
State	(400		)	(166		)	(392		)
Total current	(71,436		)	(67,490		)	(112,080		)
Deferred:
United States	124,043			(2,226		)	(2,919		)
Foreign	27,216			32,786			18,735
State	11,485			2,490			900
Total deferred	162,744			33,050			16,716
Total income tax benefit (expense)	$	91,308		$	(34,440	)	$	(95,364	)

Schedule of components of deferred tax assets and liabilities

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



December 31,	2017			2016
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforwards	$	674,088		$	936,931
Depreciation	99,455			89,629
Deferred revenue	56,651			50,187
Allowance for doubtful accounts	25,525			28,767
Deferred compensation	42,684			60,972
Unrealized loss	56,857			70,930
Nondeductible reserves	40,001			34,146
Interest	17,457			9,172
Other	923			1,735
Total deferred tax assets	1,013,641			1,282,469
Deferred tax liabilities:
Investment in subsidiaries	101,437			94,691
Amortization of intangible assets	295,410			353,490
Total deferred tax liabilities	396,847			448,181
Net deferred tax assets	616,794			834,288
Valuation allowance for net deferred tax assets	(711,767		)	(1,090,710		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(94,973	)	$	(256,422	)

Summary of Valuation Allowance

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,	2017			2016		2015
Balance at beginning of period	$	1,090,710		$	1,033,216	$	940,245
(Deductions) additions to costs and expenses	(19,530		)	44,116		150,054
Additions: charges to other accounts ^(a)	—			13,378		—
Deductions ^(b)	(359,413		)	—		(57,083		)
Balance at end of period	$	711,767		$	1,090,710	$	1,033,216

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

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

Schedule of effective income tax rate reconciliation

The reconciliations of the reported Income tax benefit (expense) to the amount that would result by applying the United States federal statutory tax rate of 35% to income from continuing operations before income taxes were as follows:



For the years ended December 31,	2017			2016			2015
Tax benefit (expense) at the United States statutory rate	$	24,718		$	(128,482	)	$	80,966
Permanent differences	(21,628		)	(21,636		)	(15,003		)
State income tax benefit, net of federal tax effect	(1,154		)	1,510			330
Tax effect of foreign income taxed at lower rate	34,652			71,347			10,770
Change in valuation allowance	(115,470		)	(47,863		)	(139,291		)
Effect of tax contingencies	10,980			26,610			(32,326		)
Tax credits	19,829			19,399			25,842
Withholding taxes	3,901			(26,163		)	(24,459		)
U.S. tax on repatriated earnings	(875		)	(67,796		)	(1,451		)
Impairments	—			—			(36		)
Sale of subsidiaries	—			139,335			—
Impact of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
Transition tax on unremitted earnings	(149,800		)	—			—
Tax effect of rate changes	82,392			—			—
Change in valuation allowance	194,794			—			—
State income tax benefit, net of federal tax effect	8,360			—			—
Other	609			(701		)	(706		)
Total income tax benefit (expense)	$	91,308		$	(34,440	)	$	(95,364	)

Schedule of beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits

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



For the years ended December 31,	2017			2016			2015
Beginning of the period	$	82,852		$	77,179		$	64,199
Additions for tax positions related to prior years	5,997			12,812			30,325
Decreases for tax positions related to prior years	(10,095		)	(3,440		)	(12,350		)
Additions for tax positions related to current year	11,551			14,795			47
Decreases for unrecognized tax benefits as a result of a lapse in the statute of limitations	(7,355		)	(10,514		)	(4,697		)
Settlements for tax positions related to prior years	(44		)	(7,980		)	(345		)
End of the period	$	82,906		$	82,852		$	77,179