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Albert Jones went over to his next$-$door neighbor, John Smith who runs a small accounting practice and asked him whether he can help figure out his gross income for the year. John said no problem at all as long as you paint your house next year as it is bringing down the property value $($lol$).$ Albert explained that he was unemployed at the beginning of the year and received $$2,000$ in unemployment compensation. Afterwards, he got a job as a manager for Sneaker Parade, a retail sneaker shop, where he earned $$55,000$ in base salary during the year. His boss also gave him a $$5,000$ Christmas bonus check on December $22.$ He decided to hold on to that check and not cash it until next year; in that he figured he won$$t have to pay taxes on it this year. Albert told John that his job offers a lot of fringe benefits like a membership to the gym that costs $$400$ and a free pair of sneakers worth $$40.$

As part of his managerial duties, he told John that he decides on certain things like contracts for the company. For instance, his good buddy, Jane, runs a sporting cap store. He made sure that she won the contract for Sneaker Parade for this year $($even though her bid wasn$$t quite the best$).$ As a thank you, Jane bought him a $$50,000$ Corvette this year for being such a good friend.

Albert continued his story with John by stating that he found outside Sneaker Parade an $$8,000$ bag of cash lying in the street! Albert said he was quite lucky! He also told John that he likes to gamble and in fact, he said he won $$27,000$ in poker tournament in Las Vegas this year. He also confided that he won about $$5,000$ over the year playing with his buddies on Friday nights. He bragged that he did not lose anything this year.

Continuing on with his story, he told John that he got hit by a car one night while leaving a game. He broke his right leg and left arm. He sued the driver and got $$11,000$ for his medical expenses and $$3,000$ to pay his psychotherapist for the emotional problems he had relating to the injuries. He also received $$12,000$ in punitive damages.

Poor John had to listen to more. Albert said his uncle Monty died this year and left him a $$200,000$ inheritance which he immediately invested it in stocks and bonds and into his savings account. As a result, he received $$600$ in qualified dividends from the stock, $$200$ in interest from the municipal bonds, and $$300$ in interest from his savings account.

Lastly, Albert$$s ex$-$wife, Alice, is still paying him alimony. She$$s a lawyer who divorced him in $2015$ due to his behavior. Because she was making so much money and I was unemployed at the time, the judge ruled that she had to pay him alimony. She sent him $$3,000$ in alimony payments this year. She also sent him a check for $$500$ as a Christmas gift this year.

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