Use This Balance Sheet and Income Statement for the First

Multiple Choice

Use this balance sheet and income statement for the first year of operations for Layton Novelties,Inc.to answer the following question.Use ending balances whenever average balances are required for computing ratios. $\begin{array}{c}\text {Abner Systems, Inc.}\\\text {Income Statement}\\\text {For the Year Ended December 31, 2010}\\\begin{array}{lr}\text { Net sales } & \$ 80,000 \\\text { Costs of goods sold } & \underline{32,000} \\\text { Gross margin } & \$ 48,000 \\\text { Operating expenses } & \underline{12,000}\\\text { Income before income taxes }&\$36,000 \\\text { Income taxes }& \underline{14,400}\\ \text {Net income } & \$21,600 \end{array}\end{array}$
The return on equity for Layton Novelties is

A) 48 percent.
B) 21.6 percent.
C) 42 percent.
D) 30 percent.