
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In a restaurant in Seattle, where the sales tax on meals is 8%, Luke leaves an 18% tip on the price of the meal before tax. The tax is computed on the base meal cost only. If his total expenditure came to 35.20 dollars, what was the cost of his meal before tax and tip?
**A)** 25
**B)** 27
**C)** 28
**D)** 29
**E)** 30

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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