We can use this equation to solve this problem:
t=p+(p⋅r)
Where:
t is the total price paid: 58.31 for this problem
p is the price before taxes: What we are solving for in this problem.
r is the tax or VAT rate: 19% for this problem. "Percent" or "%" means "out of 100" or "per 100", Therefore 19% can be written as 19100 or 0.19.
Substituting and solving for p gives:
58.31=p+(p⋅0.19)
58.31=1p+0.19p
58.31=(1+0.19)p
58.31=1.19p
58.311.19=1.19p1.19
49=1.19p1.19
49=p
p=49
Now, we can find how much the VAT was by taking 19% of 49:
19%×49=0.19×49=9.31
Another was to solve this is to subtract the price without the tax or VAT from the total price giving:
58.31−49=9.31