A pair of flip-flops cost 17.27 including tax. If the tax rate is 8%, what was the cost of the flip-flops before tax (the retail price)?

Val and tony get paid per project. val is paid a project fee of $44 plus $12 per hour. tony is paid a project fee of $35 plus $15 per hour. write an expression to represent how much a company will pay to hire both to work the same number of hours on a project.