Suppose the sales tax in your own town is 8%. Write at least three interpretations of this ratio.

Question

This is a essay question for my college class

Answer 1

1) you don't pay list price; it gets multiplied by 1.08 to account for the required sales tax.

2) 8% = 8/100 = 2/25 = 1/12.5, so for every 12.5 cents of intended purchase, you must have 13.5 cents!

These are mathematical observations.

Perhaps you are expected to argue the merits of sales tax, etc...i.e. state a philosophy of the purpose of taxation.