Final answer:
When calculating the total cost for goods bought with a sales tax, first convert the tax rate to a decimal and multiply by the price of the goods to find the tax amount. Then add the tax amount to the original sale price to get the total cost.
Step-by-step explanation:
Taxes are an essential source of revenue for government, and sales tax is one of the mechanisms through which this revenue is collected. When Wes buys school supplies in Maine, where there is a 5.5% sales tax, the total cost of his purchase will include the sale price of the supplies plus the sales tax. To calculate the total cost, take the price of the school supplies, convert the sales tax rate from a percentage to a decimal (by dividing by 100), and then multiply the sale price by this decimal to find the amount of sales tax. Finally, add the sales tax to the original sale price to find the total cost Wes will pay.
As an example, if Wes bought $50 worth of supplies, the sales tax he would pay is 50 x 0.055, which equals $2.75. Therefore, Wes's total cost would be $50 + $2.75 = $52.75.