Final answer:
To find the sales tax rate, subtract the original price from the total cost to get the sales tax amount, then divide by the original price and multiply by 100 to get the percentage rate. In this case, the tax rate is 6%.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about how to calculate the sales tax rate of an item that was purchased. To determine the sales tax rate, you subtract the original price from the total cost to find the amount of sales tax paid. Then, you divide the amount of sales tax by the original price and multiply the result by 100 to get the percentage rate.
Given that the original cost of the item is $58.00 and the total cost after taxes is $61.48, you first find the difference: $61.48 - $58.00 = $3.48. This is the amount of sales tax paid. Next, you calculate the sales tax rate: $3.48 / $58.00 = 0.06. To turn this into a percent, you multiply by 100, yielding a sales tax rate of 6%.