Entergy Arkansas, Inc.  and Subsidiaries Management’s Financial Discussion and Analysis 267 Entergy Arkansas’s receivables from the money pool were as follows as of December 31 for each of the following years:
## Table 0 ##
In April 2011, Entergy Arkansas entered into a new $78 million credit facility that expires in April 2012.
There were no outstanding borrowings under the Entergy Arkansas credit facility as of December 31, 2011.
Entergy Arkansas has obtained short-term borrowing authorization from the FERC under which it may borrow through October 2013, up to the aggregate amount, at any one time outstanding, of $250 million.
See Note 4 to the financial statements for further discussion of Entergy Arkansas’s short-term borrowing limits.
Entergy Arkansas has also obtained an order from the APSC authorizing long-term securities issuances through December 2012.
State and Local Rate Regulation and Fuel-Cost Recovery Retail Rates 2009 Base Rate Filing In September 2009, Entergy Arkansas filed with the APSC for a general change in rates, charges, and tariffs.
In June 2010 the APSC approved a settlement and subsequent compliance tariffs that provide for a $63.7 million rate increase, effective for bills rendered for the first billing cycle of July 2010.
The settlement provides for a 10.2% return on common equity.
Production Cost Allocation Rider The APSC approved a production cost allocation rider for recovery from customers of the retail portion of the costs allocated to Entergy Arkansas as a result of the System Agreement proceedings.
These costs cause an increase in Entergy Arkansas’s deferred fuel cost balance, because Entergy Arkansas pays the costs over seven months but collects them from customers over twelve months.
See Note 2 to the financial statements and Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries “MANAGEMENT’S FINANCIAL DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS - System Agreement” for discussions of the System Agreement proceedings.
Energy Cost Recovery Rider Entergy Arkansas’s retail rates include an energy cost recovery rider to recover fuel and purchased energy costs in monthly bills.
The rider utilizes prior calendar year energy costs and projected energy sales for the twelvemonth period commencing on April 1 of each year to develop an energy cost rate, which is redetermined annually and includes a true-up adjustment reflecting the over-recovery or under-recovery, including carrying charges, of the energy cost for the prior calendar year.
The energy cost recovery rider tariff also allows an interim rate request depending upon the level of over- or under-recovery of fuel and purchased energy costs.
In early October 2005, the APSC initiated an investigation into Entergy Arkansas's interim energy cost recovery rate.
The investigation focused on Entergy Arkansas's 1) gas contracting, portfolio, and hedging practices; 2) wholesale purchases during the period; 3) management of the coal inventory at its coal generation plants; and 4) response to the contractual failure of the railroads to provide coal deliveries.
In March 2006, the APSC extended its investigation to cover the costs included in Entergy Arkansas's March 2006 annual energy cost rate filing, and a hearing was held in the APSC energy cost recovery investigation in October 2006.
The following chart provides GDV and number of cards featuring our brands in 2017 for select programs and solutions:
## Table 1 ##
1 Excludes Maestro and Cirrus cards and volume generated by those cards.2 Article 8 of the E. U.  Interchange Fee Regulation related to card payments, which became effective in June 2016, states that a network can no longer charges fees on domestic EEA payment transactions that do not use its payment brand.
Prior to that, Mastercard collected a de minimis assessment fee in a few countries, particularly France, on transactions with Mastercard co-badged cards if the brands of domestic networks (as opposed to Mastercard) were used.
As a result, the non-Mastercard co-badged volume is no longer being included.
Please see “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for a further discussion.
Digital.
Leveraging our global innovations capability, we are developing platforms, products and solutions in digital payments that help our customers and partners to offer digital solutions: ?
Delivering better digital experiences everywhere.
We work to enable digital payment services across all channels and devices.
We are using our technologies and security protocols to develop solutions to make digital shopping and selling experiences, such as on smartphones and other connected devices, simpler, faster and safer for both consumers and merchants.
We also offer products that make it easier for merchants to accept payments and expand their customer base and are developing products and practices to facilitate acceptance via mobile devices.
The successful implementation of our loyalty and reward programs is an important part of enabling these digital purchasing experiences.  ?
Securing more transactions.
We are leveraging tokenization, biometrics and machine learning technologies in our push to secure every transaction.
These efforts include driving EMV-level security and benefits through all our payment channels.  ?
Digitizing personal and business payments.
Through Mastercard Send, we provide money transfer and global remittance solutions to enable our customers to facilitate consumers sending and receiving money quickly and securely domestically and around the world.
These solutions allow our customers to address new payment flows with the goal of enabling the movement of money from any funding source, such as cash, card, bank account or mobile money account, to any destination globally, securely and in real time.  ?
Simplifying access to, and integration of, our digital assets.
Our Mastercard Developer platform makes it easy for customers and partners to leverage our many digital assets and services.
By providing a single access point with tools and capabilities to find what we believe are some of the best in class Application Program Interfaces (“APIs”) across a broad range of Mastercard services, we enable easy integration of our services into new and existing solutions.  ?
Identifying and experimenting with future technologies, start-ups and trends.
Through Mastercard Labs, our global innovation and development arm, we continue to bring customers and partners access to thought leadership, innovation methodologies, new technologies and relevant early-stage fintech players.
Additional Platforms.
We offer commercial payment products and solutions that utilize additional payment platforms that are in addition to our core network - for example, Mastercard B2B Hub, which enables small and midsized businesses to optimize their invoice and payment processes.
In addition, through our acquisition of Vocalink, we offer real-time account-based payments for ACH transactions and will be able to offer commercial solutions utilizing these capabilities.
These networks enable payments between bank accounts in near real-time and have key attributes, including enhanced data and messaging capabilities, making them particularly well-suited for B2B and bill payment flows.
The real-time account-based payment landscape is rapidly evolving as more markets introduce real-time account-based payment infrastructure.
Value-Added Products and Services We provide additional integrated products and services to our customers and stakeholders, including financial institutions, retailers and governments that enhance the value proposition of our products and networks.
certain foreign taxes that became eligible to be claimed as credits in the United States in 2015, and a higher U. S.  foreign tax credit benefit associated with the repatriation of current year foreign earnings in 2015.
These items were partially offset by a more favorable geographic mix of taxable earnings in 2016.
The provision for income taxes differs from the amount of income tax determined by applying the U. S.  federal statutory income tax rate of 35% to pretax income for the years ended December 31, as a result of the following:
## Table 2 ##
1 Included within the impact of foreign tax credits are repatriation benefits of current year foreign earnings of $0 million, $116 million and $172 million, in addition to other foreign tax credit benefits which become eligible in the United States of $27 million, $25 million and $109 million for 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Our GAAP effective income tax rates for 2017, 2016 and 2015 were affected by the tax benefits related to the Special Items as previously discussed.
As of December 31, 2017, a provisional amount of the U. S.  federal and state and local income taxes of $36 million has been provided on a substantial amount of our undistributed foreign earnings.
This deferred tax charge has been established primarily on the estimated foreign exchange gain which will be recognized when such earnings are repatriated.
We expect that foreign withholding taxes associated with these future repatriated earnings will not be material.
Based upon the ongoing review of business requirements and capital needs of our non-U.
S.  subsidiaries, we believe a portion of these undistributed earnings that have already been subject to tax in the U. S.  will be necessary to fund current and future growth of the related businesses and will remain indefinitely reinvested outside of the U. S.  In 2018, we will complete our analysis of global working capital and cash needs to determine the amount we consider indefinitely reinvested.
We will disclose such amount in the period in which such analysis is completed, as well as, if practicable, any potential tax cost that would arise if the amounts were remitted back to the U. S.  Our unrecognized tax benefits related to positions taken during the current and prior periods were $183 million and $169 million, as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, all of which would reduce our effective tax rate if recognized.
See Note 17 (Income Taxes) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 for further discussion.
Within the next twelve months, we believe that the resolution of certain federal, foreign and state and local tax examinations is reasonably possible and that a change in estimate, reducing unrecognized tax benefits, may occur.
It is not possible to provide a range of the potential change until the examinations progress further or the related statute of limitations expire.
During 2015, our unrecognized tax benefits related to tax positions taken during the current and prior periods decreased by $183 million.
This decrease was primarily due to settlements with tax authorities in multiple jurisdictions.
Further, the information gained related to these matters was considered in measuring uncertain tax benefits recognized for the periods subsequent to the periods settled.
During 2014, we implemented an initiative to better align our legal entity and tax structure with our operational footprint outside of the U. S.  This initiative resulted in a one-time taxable gain in Belgium relating to the transfer of intellectual property to a related foreign entity in the United Kingdom.
We believe this improved alignment has resulted in greater flexibility and efficiency with regard to the global deployment of cash, as well as ongoing benefits in our effective income tax rate.
See Note 17 (Income Taxes) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 for further discussion.
In 2010, in connection with the expansion of our operations in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, our subsidiary in Singapore, Mastercard Asia Pacific Pte.
Ltd.  (“MAPPL”), received an incentive grant from the Singapore Ministry of Finance.
See Note 17 (Income Taxes) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 for further discussion.
Debit.
We support a range of payment products and solutions that allow our customers to provide consumers with convenient access to funds in deposit and other accounts.
Our debit and deposit access programs can be used to make purchases and to obtain cash in bank branches, at ATMs and, in some cases, at the point of sale.
Our branded debit programs consist of Mastercard (including standard, premium and affluent offerings), Maestro (the only PIN-based solution that operates globally) and Cirrus (our primary global cash access solution).
Prepaid.
Prepaid programs involve a balance that is funded prior to use and can be accessed via one of our payment products.
We offer prepaid payment programs using any of our brands, which we support with processing products and services.
Segments on which we focus include government programs such as Social Security payments, unemployment benefits and others; commercial programs such as payroll, health savings accounts, employee benefits and others; and reloadable programs for consumers without formal banking relationships and non-traditional users of electronic payments.
We also provide prepaid program management services, primarily outside of the United States, that manage and enable switching and issuer processing for consumer and commercial prepaid travel cards for business partners such as financial institutions, retailers, telecommunications companies, travel agents, foreign exchange bureaus, colleges and universities, airlines and governments.
Commercial.
We offer commercial payment products and solutions that help large corporations, midsize companies, small businesses and government entities.
Our solutions streamline procurement and payment processes, manage information and expenses (such as travel and entertainment) and reduce administrative costs.
Our card offerings include travel, small business (debit and credit), purchasing and fleet cards.
Our SmartData platform provides expense management and reporting capabilities.
Our Mastercard In Control?
platform generates virtual account numbers which provide businesses with enhanced controls, more security and better data.
The following chart provides GDV and number of cards featuring our brands in 2018 for select programs and solutions:

<table><tr><td>2011</td><td>2010</td><td>2009</td><td>2008</td></tr><tr><td>(In Thousands)</td></tr><tr><td>$17,362</td><td>$41,463</td><td>$28,859</td><td>$15,991</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="3">Year Ended December 31, 2017 GDV</td><td colspan="2">As of December 31, 2017 Cards</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>(in billions)</td><td>Growth (Local)</td><td>% of Total GDV</td><td>(in millions)</td><td>Percentage Increase from December 31, 2016</td></tr><tr><td>Mastercard Branded Programs<sup>1,2</sup></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Consumer Credit</td><td>$2,289</td><td>8%</td><td>44%</td><td>768</td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td>Consumer Debit and Prepaid</td><td>2,369</td><td>12%</td><td>45%</td><td>991</td><td>14%</td></tr><tr><td>Commercial Credit and Debit</td><td>583</td><td>15%</td><td>11%</td><td>67</td><td>16%</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">2017</td><td colspan="2">2016</td><td colspan="2">2015</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Amount</td><td>Percent</td><td>Amount</td><td>Percent</td><td>Amount</td><td>Percent</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="6">(in millions, except percentages)</td></tr><tr><td>Income before income taxes</td><td>$6,522</td><td></td><td>$5,646</td><td></td><td>$4,958</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Federal statutory tax</td><td>2,283</td><td>35.0%</td><td>1,976</td><td>35.0%</td><td>1,735</td><td>35.0%</td></tr><tr><td>State tax effect, net of federal benefit</td><td>43</td><td>0.7%</td><td>22</td><td>0.4%</td><td>27</td><td>0.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Foreign earnings</td><td>-380</td><td>-5.8%</td><td>-188</td><td>-3.3%</td><td>-144</td><td>-2.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Impact of foreign tax credits<sup>1</sup></td><td>-27</td><td>-0.4%</td><td>-141</td><td>-2.5%</td><td>-281</td><td>-5.7%</td></tr><tr><td>Impact of settlements with tax authorities</td><td>—</td><td>—%</td><td>—</td><td>—%</td><td>-147</td><td>-2.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Transition Tax</td><td>629</td><td>9.6%</td><td>—</td><td>—%</td><td>—</td><td>—%</td></tr><tr><td>Remeasurement of U.S. deferred taxes</td><td>157</td><td>2.4%</td><td>—</td><td>—%</td><td>—</td><td>—%</td></tr><tr><td>Other, net</td><td>-98</td><td>-1.5%</td><td>-82</td><td>-1.5%</td><td>-40</td><td>-0.8%</td></tr><tr><td>Income tax expense</td><td>$2,607</td><td>40.0%</td><td>$1,587</td><td>28.1%</td><td>$1,150</td><td>23.2%</td></tr></table>

Question: Which year is Income before income taxes the highest?