Income taxes

The following table summarizes the components of the provision for income taxes from continuing operations:



	2014			2013			2012
	(Dollars in thousands)
Current:
Federal	$	12,348		$	(2,996	)	$	21,046
State	1,912			1,736			3,623
Foreign	30,748			36,422			30,389
Deferred:
Federal	(6,593		)	(9,565		)	(34,629		)
State	3,435			(1,825		)	(720		)
Foreign	(13,200		)	(225		)	(3,296		)
	$	28,650		$	23,547		$	16,413

At December 31, 2014, the cumulative unremitted earnings of subsidiaries outside the United States, which are considered non-permanently reinvested and for which U.S. taxes have been provided, approximated $545.5 million. At December 31, 2014, the cumulative unremitted earnings of subsidiaries outside the United States that are considered permanently reinvested, and, accordingly, for which no income or withholding taxes have been provided, approximated $966.2 million. Earnings considered permanently reinvested are expected to be reinvested indefinitely and, as a result, no deferred tax liability has been recognized with regard to these earnings. It is not practical to determine the deferred income tax liability on these earnings if, in the future, they are remitted to the United States because the income tax liability to be incurred, if any, is dependent on circumstances existing when remittance occurs.

The following table summarizes the United States and non-United States components of income from continuing operations before taxes:



	2014			2013			2012
	(Dollars in thousands)
United States	$	(23,875	)	$	(3,323	)	$	(315,707	)
Other	243,985			179,053			150,338
	$	220,110		$	175,730		$	(165,369	)

Reconciliations between the statutory federal income tax rate and the effective income tax rate are as follows:



	2014		2013		2012
Federal statutory rate	35.00	%	35.00	%	35.00	%
Goodwill impairment	—		—		(60.84	)
Tax effect of International items	(22.54	)	(14.83	)	11.28
State taxes, net of federal benefit	2.10		(0.32	)	(0.90	)
Uncertain tax contingencies	(0.83	)	(4.06	)	4.85
Contingent consideration reversals	(1.18	)	(2.04	)	—
Other, net	0.47		(0.35	)	0.68
	13.02	%	13.40	%	(9.93	)%

The effective income tax rate for 2014 was 13.0% compared to 13.4% for 2013. The effective income tax rate for 2014 was impacted by a benefit from a shift in the mix of income to jurisdictions with lower statutory tax rates, tax benefits associated with U.S. federal tax return filings and, although to a lesser extent than 2013, the realization of net tax benefits resulting from the expiration of statutes of limitation for U.S. state and foreign matters.

The effective income tax rate for 2013 was impacted by the realization of net tax benefits resulting from the expiration of statutes of limitation for U.S. federal and state and for foreign matters, tax benefits associated with U.S. and foreign tax return filings and the realization of tax benefits resulting from the resolution of a foreign tax matter.

The Company and its subsidiaries are routinely subject to examinations by various taxing authorities. In conjunction with these examinations and as a regular practice, the Company establishes and adjusts reserves with respect to its uncertain tax positions to address developments related to those positions. The Company realized a net benefit of approximately $1.8 million, $7.1 million and $8.0 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, as a result of reducing its reserves with respect to uncertain tax positions. These reductions principally resulted from the expiration of a number of applicable statutes of limitations.

The following table summarizes significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2014 and 2013:



	2014			2013
	(Dollars in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Tax loss and credit carryforwards	$	112,796		$	104,043
Pension	63,669			39,310
Reserves and accruals	42,296			38,684
Other	28,416			27,886
Less: valuation allowances	(99,141		)	(86,510		)
Total deferred tax assets	148,036			123,413
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	31,143			26,550
Intangibles — stock acquisitions	384,734			400,297
Unremitted foreign earnings	116,595			147,326
Other	10,756			12,030
Total deferred tax liabilities	543,228			586,203
Net deferred tax liability	$	(395,192	)	$	(462,790	)

Under the tax laws of various jurisdictions in which the Company operates, deductions or credits that cannot be fully utilized for tax purposes during the current year may be carried forward, subject to statutory limitations, to reduce taxable income or taxes payable in a future tax year. At December 31, 2014, the tax effect of such carryforwards approximated $112.8 million. Of this amount, $12.6 million has no expiration date, $0.3 million expires after 2014 but before the end of 2019 and $99.9 million expires after 2019. A portion of these carryforwards consists of tax losses and credits obtained by the Company as a result of acquisitions; the utilization of these carryforwards are subject to an annual limitation imposed by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, which limits a company’s ability to deduct prior net operating losses following a more than 50 percent change in ownership. It is not expected that the Section 382 limitation will prevent the Company from utilizing its loss carryforwards. The determination of state net operating loss carryforwards is dependent upon the United States subsidiaries’ taxable income or loss, the state’s proportion of taxable net income and the application of state laws, which can change from year to year and impact the amount of such carryforward.

The valuation allowance for deferred tax assets of $99.1 million and $86.5 million at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, relates principally to the uncertainty of the Company’s ability to utilize certain deferred tax assets, primarily tax loss and credit carryforwards in various jurisdictions. The valuation allowance was calculated in accordance with applicable accounting standards, which require that a valuation allowance be established and maintained when it is “more likely than not” that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Uncertain Tax Positions: The following table is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for liabilities associated with unrecognized tax benefits for the twelve month periods ending December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012:



	2014			2013			2012
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance at January 1	$	55,771		$	62,108		$	75,026
Increase in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior years	—			—			1,110
Decrease in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior years	—			—			(6,134		)
Unrecognized tax benefits related to the current year	910			1,838			4,256
Reductions in unrecognized tax benefits due to settlements	(132		)	—			(8,816		)
Reductions in unrecognized tax benefits due to lapse of applicable statute of limitations	(3,235		)	(8,433		)	(3,503		)
Increase (decrease) in unrecognized tax benefits due to foreign currency translation	(2,230		)	258			169
Balance at December 31	$	51,084		$	55,771		$	62,108

The total liabilities associated with the unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized would impact the effective tax rate for continuing operations, were $21.6 million at December 31, 2014.

The Company accrues interest and penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense in the consolidated statements of operations, and the corresponding liability is included in the consolidated balance sheets. The interest (benefit) expense (net of related tax benefits where applicable) and penalties reflected in income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $1.0 million and $(0.8) million, respectively; for the year ended December 31, 2013 was $1.3 million and $(0.8) million, respectively; and for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $0.8 million and $0.2 million, respectively. The corresponding liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets for interest and penalties at December 31, 2014 were $6.2 million and $5.0 million, respectively, and at December 31, 2013 were $5.7 million and $6.0 million, respectively.

The taxable years that remain subject to examination by major tax jurisdictions are as follows:



	Beginning	Ending
United States	2010	2014
Canada	2005	2014
China	2009	2014
Czech Republic	2011	2014
France	2012	2014
Germany	2007	2014
India	2008	2014
Ireland	2010	2014
Italy	2010	2014
Malaysia	2010	2014
Singapore	2010	2014

The Company and its subsidiaries are routinely subject to income tax examinations by various taxing authorities. As of December 31, 2014, the most significant tax examinations in process are in the jurisdictions of Austria, Canada, Germany and the United States. The date at which these examinations may be concluded and the ultimate outcome of such examinations is uncertain. As a result of the uncertain outcome of these ongoing examinations, future examinations or the expiration of statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible that the related unrecognized tax benefits for tax positions taken could materially change from those recorded as liabilities at December 31, 2014. Due to the potential for resolution of certain examinations, and the expiration of various statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible that the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits may change within the next twelve months by a range of zero to $2.6 million.