Marshland Company Is Preparing the Company's Statement of Cash Flows

Marshland Company is preparing the company's statement of cash flows for the fiscal year just ended. The following information is available:
$\begin{array}{ll}\text { Cash dividends declared for the year }&\$40,000\\\text { Cash dividends payable at the beginning of the year } & 17,000 \\\text { Cash dividends payable at the end of the year } & 13,000\end{array}$

$\text { The amount of cash paid for dividends was: }$

A) $\$ 57,000$ .
B) $\$ 53,000$ .
C) $\$ 36,000$ .
D) $\$ 40,000$ .
E) $\$ 44,000$