The shareholders’ equity section of May berry Corporation, as of the end of 2018, follows. May berry began operations in 2014. The 5,000 shares of preferred stock have been outstanding since 2014.
Preferred stock (10,000 sh. authorized, 5,000 issued, cumulative,
nonparticipating, $5 dividends, $10 par value) ...........................................$ 50,000
Common stock (500,000 sh. authorized, 200,000 sh. issued,
50,000 held in treasury, no par value) .........................................................1,600,000
Additional paid-in capital .................................................................................140,000
Retained earnings .............................................................................................110,000
Less: Treasury stock .........................................................................................(80,000)
Total shareholders’ equity ..........................................................................$1,820,000

The company has paid the following total cash dividends since 2014:
2014 ........................$       0
2015 ........................30,000
2016 ........................80,000
2017 ........................15,000
2018 ........................40,000
a. Compute the dividends paid to the preferred and common shareholders for each of the years since 2014.
b. Compute the balance of dividends in arrears as of the end of each year.
c. Should dividends in arrears be considered a liability? Why or why not?