Trent Inc. needs an additional worker on a multiyear project. It could hire an employee for a $77,000 annual salary. Alternatively, it could engage an independent contractor for a $84,000 annual fee. Trent's income tax rate is 21 percent. Compute the annual after-tax cost of each option and indicate which minimizes the after-tax cost of obtaining the worker. (Round all your intermediate calculations to the nearest whole dollar amount.)

After-tax cost of employee After-tax cost of independent contractor Option that minimizes after-tax cost