The financial staff of Cairn Communications has identified the following information for the first year of the roll$-$out of its new proposed service:

Projected sales $$24$ million

Operating costs $($not including depreciation$)$ $$9$ million

Depreciation $$6$ million

Interest expense $$3$ million

The company faces a $25\%$ tax rate. What is the project's operating cash flow for the first year $($t $=1)?$ Enter your answer in dollars. For example, an answer of $$1\mathrm{.}2$ million should be entered as $$1,200,000.$ Round your answer to the nearest dollar.

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