Question

For a party, Janet needs to buy a gift. According to the rules of the party, she can spend at most a total of $20, including tax. The tax rate is 8%. How much can her gift cost before tax?

PLEASE show your work!

Answer 1

What we know:

• Janet can spend a total of $20 including tax. This is the maximum she can spend.
• The tax rate is 8%

What we need to find:

• The maximum cost of Janet's gift before tax, within her $20 budget.

The amount of tax will be 8% of the cost before tax.

Let's call the cost before tax $x.

Then the tax = (0.08 * $x)

The total amount including tax is $20. So we have:

$x + (0.08 * $x) = $20

Solving for $x:

$x + (0.08 * $x) = $20

1.08 * $x = $20

$x = $20/1.08

$x = $18.52

Therefore, the maximum cost of Janet's gift before tax is $18.52,

so that the total with tax does not exceed her $20 budget.

Answer 2

Answer: $18.40

Explanation:

To calculate the maximum cost of the gift before tax, we need to subtract the tax amount from the total amount Janet can spend. First, we calculate the tax amount by multiplying the total amount Janet can spend by the tax rate: Tax amount = Total amount × Tax rate Tax amount = $20 × 0.08 Tax amount = $1.60 Next, we subtract the tax amount from the total amount Janet can spend to find the maximum cost of the gift before tax: Maximum cost before tax = Total amount - Tax amount Maximum cost before tax = $20 - $1.60 Maximum cost before tax = $18.40 Therefore, Janet can spend a maximum of $18.40 on the gift before tax.