Question

Richard bought a pair of shoes for $37.00, a tie for $22.00, and a new belt for $17.00. If the sales tax is 7.5%, how much sales tax did Richard pay for these items?

Answer 1

It seems to me, that if you were to add the price of all three items together, then multiply by 7.5%, you'd have the answer.  Remember that 7.5% = .075 ... in other words, that is the number you would multiply the sum of the items by.  Does that help?