Answer:
1. tax deductions 2. the one that isn't amount of tax owed
Step-by-step explanation:
got the first part right and reviewed it on plato to see that The amount of tax owed is not the right answer.
An equation without exponents and two variables, is typically a straight line. All the points on the line with integer coordinates are solutions of the equation. Since x and y have to be positive as well, there aren't that many solutions.
Let's see where the line crosses the x-axis, it is where y=0:
x/0.5 + 0 = 18, so x=9 at the intercept. y=0 there, so this is a point on the line, but not a solution to the question (y was supposed to be positive).
Possible values for x are thus limited to 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7. You can try them all (ie., solve the equation with them) and see for which x values the y is also positive and integer.
You will find that x=4, y=2 is the only pair that satisfies these conditions.