Problem:
Last year Mr. John Q. Public received an inheritance. He paid in federal taxes on the inheritance, and paid of what he had left in state taxes. He paid a total of for both taxes. How many dollars was the inheritance?
Answer Choices:
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Solution:
After paying the federal taxes, Mr. Public had of his inheritance money left. He paid of that, or of his inheritance, in state taxes. Hence his total tax bill was of his inheritance, and his inheritance was .
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions