On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act"). The Tax Act made changes to the U.S. tax code, which included (1) reduced U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, (2) generally eliminated U.S. federal income taxes on dividends from foreign subsidiaries,  (3) a one-time transition tax on certain undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries, and (4) created new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings.  

As of December 31, 2018, the amounts recorded for the Tax Act are final for the 2017 transition tax, the re-measurement of deferred taxes, and the Company’s reassessment of valuation allowances.  The Company recorded a net additional charge as a result of the Tax Act and its recently issued guidance of $19,180, all non-cash,  including a true up of the re-measurement of deferred tax liabilities using the lower U.S. corporate income tax rate and a reduction in a deferred tax asset with regard to foreign tax credit carryforwards.

The Company’s provision for federal and foreign income tax expense for continuing operations consisted of the following:

Current and deferred income taxes were as follows:

A reconciliation between income tax expense and taxes computed by applying the applicable statutory federal income tax rate to income before income taxes follows:

As of December 31, 2018, all earnings invested offshore subject to the Tax Act have been included in the transition tax. As of December 31, 2018, the Company had approximately $415,323 of accumulated undistributed earnings and profits, approximately $373,768 of which was subject to the one-time transition tax pursuant to the Tax Act. Any additional tax due on the repatriation of previously taxed earnings would generally be foreign withholding and U.S. state income taxes. The Company does not intend to repatriate these offshore earnings and profits, and therefore has not recorded any deferred taxes on such earnings. The Company considers any excess of the amount for financial reporting over the tax basis of its investment in its foreign subsidiaries to be indefinitely reinvested. At this time, the determination of deferred tax liabilities on this amount is not practicable.

Deferred Income Taxes

The tax effects of significant temporary differences and tax loss and tax credit carryforwards comprising the net long-term deferred income tax liabilities as of December 31, 2017 and 2018 consisted of the following:

A significant portion of our foreign tax credit carryforwards expire in 2023.  Some foreign net operating losses expired in 2018; however, some losses may be carried forward indefinitely. State net operating losses may be carried forward for periods of between five and twenty years with the last expiring year being 2037.

The Company’s valuation allowance changed from $35,246 at December 31, 2017 to $54,725 at December 31, 2018 (see Note 21). The increase was a result of recently issued guidance for the Tax Act and the impact on the estimated usage of foreign tax credit carryforwards before their expiration.  

Uncertain Tax Positions

The following is a reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits excluding interest and penalties, for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2017 and 2018:

The Company had $20,231 and $13,953 of unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, as of December 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Of these amounts, $20,231 and $13,953  represent the amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would impact the effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively. The Company had $5,288 and $3,390 accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and in certain state and foreign jurisdictions and are routinely under audit by many different tax authorities. The Company believes that its accrual for tax liabilities is adequate for all open audit years based on its assessment of many factors including past experience and interpretations of tax law. This assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of complex judgments about future events. The Company is no longer subject to income tax audits from the Internal Revenue Service for years before 2015. Additionally, the Company began and concluded an audit from the Internal Revenue Service for the year 2016, with no changes.  The Company is no longer subject to state income tax examinations by tax authorities in its major state jurisdictions for years before 2014. The Company is no longer subject to non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities in its major non-U.S. tax jurisdictions for years before 2005.

The Company is currently under audit in the non-U.S. tax jurisdiction of Brazil. The Company concluded an audit in Chile in 2018 and recorded a tax benefit of $6,802.