the income statement and the cash flows from the operating activities section of the statement of cash flows are provided below for syntric company. the merchandise inventory account balance neither increased nor decreased during the reporting period. syntric had no liability for insurance or deferred income taxes at any time during the period. syntric company income statement for the year ended december 31, 2021 ($ in thousands) sales $ 276.7 cost of goods sold (171.0 ) gross margin 105.7 salaries expense $ 36.2 insurance expense 17.1 depreciation expense 10.0 depletion expense 3.6 interest expense 10.7 (77.6 ) gains and losses: gain on sale of equipment 20.0 loss on sale of land (6.5 ) income before tax 41.6 income tax expense (20.8 ) net income $ 20.8 cash flows from operating activities: cash received from customers $ 230.0 cash paid to suppliers (160.0 ) cash paid to employees (33.0 ) cash paid for interest (9.6 ) cash paid for insurance (13.5 ) cash paid for income tax (10.8 ) net cash flows from operating activities $ 3.1