To determine the cost of the item before tax when given the sales tax information, follow these steps:
1. Identify the sales tax rate and the amount of tax paid:
- The sales tax rate is 6%.
- The amount of tax paid is [tex]$3.60.
2. Convert the sales tax rate from a percentage to a decimal:
- 6% as a decimal is 0.06.
3. Set up the equation to find the cost of the item before tax:
- Let \( C \) be the cost of the item before tax.
- The total tax paid can be expressed as \( \text{Tax Paid} = C \times \text{Tax Rate} \).
4. Substitute the known values into the equation:
- $[/tex]3.60 = [tex]\( C \times 0.06 \)[/tex]
5. Solve for [tex]\( C \)[/tex]:
- [tex]\( C = \frac{\$3.60}{0.06} \)[/tex]
6. Calculate the result:
- [tex]\( C = 60.00 \)[/tex]
Thus, the cost of the item before tax was $60.00.
