We can use this equation to solve this problem:
<span>t=p+<span>(p⋅r)</span></span>
Where:
t is the total price paid: 58.31 for this problem
p is the price before taxes: What we are solving for in this problem.
r is the tax or VAT rate: 19% for this problem. "Percent" or "%" means "out of 100" or "per 100", Therefore 19% can be written as <span>19100</span> or 0.19.
Substituting and solving for p gives:
<span>58.31=p+<span>(p⋅0.19)</span></span>
<span>58.31=1p+0.19p</span>
<span>58.31=<span>(1+0.19)</span>p</span>
<span>58.31=1.19p</span>
<span><span>58.311.19</span>=<span><span>1.19p</span>1.19</span></span>
<span>49=<span><span>1.19p</span>1.19</span></span>
<span>49=p</span>
<span>p=49</span>
Now, we can find how much the VAT was by taking 19% of 49:
<span>19%×49=0.19×49=9.31</span>
Another was to solve this is to subtract the price without the tax or VAT from the total price giving:
<span>58.31−49=<span>9.31</span></span>
