
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
John dines out at a restaurant in San Francisco where the sales tax is 12%. He leaves a 20% tip based on the pre-tax meal cost. His total expenditure is 36 dollars for the meal. Determine the initial cost of the meal before tax and tip.
A) 25
B) 27
C) 29
D) 28
E) 30

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