Task: Question Answering
Input (English): Problem: a merchant purchased a jacket for $ 54 and then determined a selling price that equalled the purchase price of the jacket plus a markup that was 40 percent of the selling price . during a sale , the merchant discounted the selling price by 20 percent and sold the jacket . what was the merchant ’ s gross profit on this sale ? 
Options: a ) $ 0 , b ) $ 3 , c ) $ 4 , d ) $ 12 , e ) $ 18
Output (English): e