Question

Janie bought a shirt at American Eagle and spent a total of $36.04, paying 6% in sales tax. The shirt was marked down 15% and was originally $40. How much did Janie pay in sales tax?

Answer 1

40·(1 - 0.15)·0.06 = 2.04

or

36.04·0.06/1.06 = 2.04

Answer 2

The correct answer is $2,04.

Explanation:

Well, here we have a lot of information so the most convenient thing would be to analyze it little by little.

We know that Janie spent a total of $ 36.04 for a shirt. That amount already has 6% included in sales taxes.

They also tell us that the shirt originally cost $ 40, with a 15% discount, which means it cost $ 6 less ----- 40 x 0.15 = 6. Therefore the new value of the shirt would be $ 34.

To that sum 6% of sales taxes were applied.

Thus:

34 x 0.06 = 2.04.

We confirm that the final value is the same:

34 + 2.04 = 36.04

In this way we can verify that the value that Janie paid in sales tax is 2.04.