The income tax footnote to the financial statements of Life Technologies Company, for the year ended December 31, 2014, includes the following information (in thousands):

Provision for income taxes
Federal	$237,481
State	13,156
Foreign	50,548
	301,185
Deferred tax provision
Federal	(174,953)
State	(9,925)
Foreign	(1,182)
	(186,060)
Changes in tax rate	(13,749)
Current income taxes	$101,376

a. What income tax expense did Life Technologies Company report in its 2014 income statement?

b. How much of the income tax expense is payable in 2014?

c. Why would changes in the tax rate affect the deferred tax account? Did the tax rate increase or decrease? Explain.