On january 2, 20x1, cole co. signed an 8-year noncancelable lease for a new machine, requiring $15,000 annual payments at the beginning of each year. the machine has a useful life of 12 years, with no salvage value. title passes to cole at the lease expiration date. cole uses straight-line depreciation for all of its plant assets. aggregate lease payments have a present value on january 2, 20x1, of $108,000, based on an appropriate rate of interest. for 20x1, cole should record depreciation (amortization) expense for the leased machine at:
a. $0.
b. $9,000.
c. $13,500.
d. $15,000.