Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

INCOME TAXES

v3.3.0.814
INCOME TAXES
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
INCOME TAXES [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES
13. INCOME TAXES:

The provision for income taxes consisted of the following:

   
2015
    
2014
    
2013
  
Current:
            
Federal
  
$
655
    
$
7,371
    
$
15,703
  
State
    
1,466
      
3,612
      
3,423
  
Foreign
    
10,599
      
10,427
      
4,804
  
     
12,720
      
21,410
      
23,930
  
Deferred
    
13,644
      
1,395
      
2,244
  
Total
  
$
26,364
    
$
22,805
    
$
26,174
  
                         
 
Federal income taxes have decreased as a result of lower U.S. earnings, reflecting increased acquisition-related costs, and the usage of certain tax attributes resulting from the Schawk acquisition.  The increase in foreign income taxes is primarily due to higher earnings from non-U.S. locations, reflecting the fiscal 2014 acquisition of Schawk.  The increase in deferred income taxes resulted primarily from the settlement of a multi-employer pension plan installment payment obligation, and a deduction related to a theft of funds by an employee.
 
The reconciliation of the federal statutory tax rate to the consolidated effective tax rate was as follows:

   
2015
    
2014
    
2013
  
Federal statutory tax rate
    
35.0
%
    
35.0
%
    
35.0
%
Effect of state income taxes, net of federal deduction
    
1.8
      
3.8
      
2.7
  
Foreign taxes less than federal statutory rate
    
(3.2
)
    
(2.1
)
    
(3.1
)
Other
    
(4.2
)
    
(2.2
)
    
(2.0
)
Effective tax rate
    
29.4
%
    
34.5
%
    
32.6
%

The Company's effective tax rate for fiscal 2015 was 29.4%, compared to 34.5% for fiscal 2014. The decrease in the fiscal 2015 effective tax rate, compared to fiscal 2014, primarily reflected the benefit of the utilization of certain tax attributes as a result of legal structure reorganization in foreign jurisdictions and a relative increase in the amount of earnings generated from non-U.S. locations.  The effective tax rate in fiscal 2014 included the impact of non-deductible acquisition costs relating to the Schawk acquisition. The difference between the Company's effective tax rate and the Federal statutory rate of 35.0% primarily reflected the impact of state taxes, offset by lower foreign income taxes.

The Company's foreign subsidiaries had income before income taxes for the years ended September 30, 2015, 2014 and 2013 of approximately $40,024, $23,835 and $23,662, respectively.  At September 30, 2015, undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries for which deferred U.S. income taxes have not been provided approximated $409,167.  The Company has not determined the deferred tax liability associated with these undistributed earnings, as such determination is not practicable.

The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities at September 30, 2015 and 2014 are as follows:

   
2015
    
2014
  
Deferred tax assets:
        
Pension and postretirement benefits
  
$
42,134
    
$
34,309
  
Accruals and reserves not currently deductible
    
27,586
      
28,090
  
Income tax credit carryforward
    
9,160
      
9,839
  
Operating and capital loss carryforwards
    
25,012
      
25,419
  
Stock options
    
8,550
      
8,366
  
Other
    
7,396
      
21,089
  
Total deferred tax assets
    
119,838
      
127,112
  
    Valuation allowances
    
(20,977
)
    
(24,540
)
Net deferred tax assets
    
98,861
      
102,572
  
                 
Deferred tax liabilities:
                
Depreciation
    
(8,509
)
    
(7,651
)
Goodwill and intangible assets
    
(193,876
)
    
(183,685
)
Other
    
(20,490
)
    
(18,590
)
     
(222,875
)
    
(209,926
)
                 
Net deferred tax liability
  
$
(124,014
)
  
$
(107,354
)
 
At September 30, 2015, the Company had U.S. state net operating loss carryforwards of $91,750, foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $66,542, foreign capital loss carryforwards of $24,130, and various U.S. and non-U.S. income tax credit carryforwards of $4,922 and $4,238, respectively, which will be available to offset future income tax liabilities. If not used, state net operating losses will begin to expire in 2017.  Foreign net operating losses have no expiration period. Certain of these carryforwards are subject to limitations on use due to tax rules affecting acquired tax attributes, loss sharing between group members, and business continuation.  Therefore, the Company has established tax-effected valuation allowances against these tax benefits in the amount of $20,977 at September 30, 2015.  At September 30, 2015, the Company had total foreign tax credit carryforwards of $2,782, offset by a valuation allowance of $153. The Company has the ability to claim a deduction for these credits prior to expiration, and the net carrying value of the credits of $2,629 assumes that a deduction will be claimed instead of a tax credit. If unutilized, these U.S. foreign tax credits will begin to expire in 2018.  The increase in deferred tax liabilities resulted primarily from purchase accounting adjustments and the acquisition of Aurora Products Group, LLC ("Aurora") in August 2015.  The decrease in the valuation allowances from fiscal 2014 resulted from a fiscal 2015 legal structure reorganization in foreign jurisdictions that enabled the utilization of certain tax attributes.

Changes in the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits (excluding penalties and interest) are as follows:

   
2015
    
2014
    
2013
  
Balance, beginning of year
  
$
4,311
    
$
4,516
    
$
4,501
  
Increase from acquisition
    
-
      
385
      
-
  
Increases for tax positions of prior years
    
475
      
369
      
-
  
Decreases for tax positions of prior years
    
(155
)
    
(863
)
    
(124
)
Increases based on tax positions related to the current year
    
635
      
623
      
708
  
Decreases due to settlements with taxing authorities
    
(27
)
    
(12
)
    
(250
)
Decreases due to lapse of statute of limitation
    
(1,153
)
    
(707
)
    
(319
)
Balance, end of year
  
$
4,086
    
$
4,311
    
$
4,516
  
 
The Company had unrecognized tax benefits of $4,086 and $4,311 at September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, all of which, if recorded, would impact the annual effective tax rate.  It is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits could change by approximately $782 in the next 12 months primarily due to expiration of statutes related to specific tax positions.

The Company classifies interest and penalties on tax uncertainties as a component of the provision for income taxes.  Total penalties and interest accrued were $2,010 and $2,135 at September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  These accruals may potentially be applicable in the event of an unfavorable outcome of uncertain tax positions.

The Company is currently under examination in several tax jurisdictions and remains subject to examination until the statute of limitation expires for those tax jurisdictions.  As of September 30, 2015, the tax years that remain subject to examination by major jurisdiction generally are:

United States - Federal
2012 and forward
United States - State
2011 and forward
Canada
2010 and forward
Europe
2009 and forward
United Kingdom
2013 and forward
Australia
2011 and forward
Asia
2009 and forward