The following data were taken from recent annual reports of Caliber Company, which operates a low-fare airline service to more than 50 cities in the United States: Current Year Preceding Year Interest expense $75,000 $81,000 Income before income tax 322,500 218,700 a. Determine the times interest earned ratio for the current and preceding years. Round to one decimal place. Current year Preceding year b. Although Caliber Company had enough earnings to pay interest in the preceding year, the