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Study Guides > Mathematics for the Liberal Arts

Taxes

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify and apply a solution pathway for multi-step problems
magnifying lens over the word Governments collect taxes to pay for the services they provide. In the United States, federal income taxes help fund the military, the environmental protection agency, and thousands of other programs. Property taxes help fund schools. Gasoline taxes help pay for road improvements. While very few people enjoy paying taxes, they are necessary to pay for the services we all depend upon. Taxes can be computed in a variety of ways, but are typically computed as a percentage of a sale, of one’s income, or of one’s assets.

Example: Sales Tax

The sales tax rate in a city is 9.3%. How much sales tax will you pay on a $140 purchase?

Answer: The sales tax will be 9.3% of $140. To compute this, we multiply $140 by the percent written as a decimal: $140(0.093) = $13.02.

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