We can compute additive or subtractive percentages by using these formulas. If we have a number X and want to increase it by Y%, then the increase is xY/100. Thus the new value for the number is x+xY/100 or equivalently
If we want to decrease by Z%, the new value is
The regular price for a CD is X=$15. The CD is Z=10% off, so the sale price is
But we have to add the tax of Y=5%, so the final value is
The answer is (a) because that value is the y intercept meaning that it will be the value for price at the beginning of the time frame... in this case in January 2013 which is the beginning of the year.