College

Mei paid [tex]\$1.64[/tex] in sales tax on a purchase of [tex]\$20.50[/tex]. What is the sales tax rate?

Answer :

To find the sales tax rate that Mei paid, follow these steps:

1. Identify the amounts involved:
- Sales tax paid: \[tex]$164
- Purchase amount: \$[/tex]20.50

2. Understand what the sales tax rate means:
- The sales tax rate is a percentage that represents the portion of the purchase price Mei had to pay as tax.

3. Set up the formula for the sales tax rate:
- The formula for the sales tax rate is:
[tex]\[
\text{Sales Tax Rate (\%)} = \left( \frac{\text{Sales Tax Paid}}{\text{Purchase Amount}} \right) \times 100
\][/tex]

4. Plug the given values into the formula:
- Substitute the known values into the formula:
[tex]\[
\text{Sales Tax Rate (\%)} = \left( \frac{164}{20.50} \right) \times 100
\][/tex]

5. Calculate the sales tax rate:
- Perform the division first:
[tex]\[
\frac{164}{20.50} \approx 8
\][/tex]
- Multiply by 100 to convert the rate to a percentage:
[tex]\[
8 \times 100 = 800\%
\][/tex]

Therefore, the sales tax rate Mei paid is 800%.