Question

you buy a ham marked at $15.99 j are charged $16.87. what is the sales tax rate? (round to nearest tenth of a percent).

Answer 1

Determine the additional cost of ham due to sales tax.

$\begin{gathered} s=16.87-15.99 \\ =0.88 \end{gathered}$

The sales tax is always paid on the marked price. So assume that x be sales tax rate in percent, then equation for the sales tax rate is,

$s=\frac{x}{100}\cdot15.99$

Substitute 0.88 for s and simplify to obtain the value of x.

$\begin{gathered} 0.88=\frac{x}{100}\cdot15.99 \\ x=\frac{0.88\cdot100}{15.99} \\ =5.503 \\ \approx5.5 \end{gathered}$

So sales tax rate is 5.5%.