Question

4. If $988 is the total of a sale that includes sales tax of 4%, what is the selling price of the item only?

Answer 1

$950 is the selling price of the item only.

Answer 2

1.04x = 988
x = 988 / 1.04
x = 950 <== selling price not including tax

check...
950(1.04) = 988
988 = 988 (correct)

so the selling price is 950 plus the sales tax of (0.04 * 950) = 38 for a total of 988