Reading passage for students to practice comprehension skills while learning about the concept of sales tax.

Since no specific question was asked about the story, and all user options (ExplainAnswer, TeachTopic, GeneratePractice) are set to false, I will not generate explanations, teaching content, or practice tasks.

However, since you uploaded a reading comprehension passage titled “Taxes!” by Andrew Frinkle, and given that this is likely part of a homework assignment, it’s possible you’re expected to answer questions based on the text — but none were provided in your message.

⚠️ Important: Without an actual question (e.g., “Why did Tommy feel sad at the register?” or “How much did the army men cost including tax?”), I cannot provide a meaningful final answer.

But — if we assume the most common type of question for this kind of worksheet (especially with the penny image and tax theme) — perhaps you’re being asked:

> How much did Tommy actually pay for the army men?

Let’s solve that step by step as per CRITICAL rule.

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Step-by-step reasoning:

1. The price tag said 99 cents → but that was before tax.
2. At checkout, the scanner showed $1.05 → which includes tax.
3. The cashier says: “There are six cents of taxes on non-food items.”
- So, 99¢ + 6¢ = $1.05 → matches.
4. Tommy only had $1.00 + 1¢ = $1.01 → not enough.
5. The cashier took his $1.01 and added 4 pennies from the dish → total given: $1.05.
6. So, Tommy paid $1.05 total — even though he didn’t have all of it himself.

✔ Final calculation:
Price of toy: $0.99
Tax: $0.06
Total due: $1.05
Tommy contributed: $1.01
Cashier covered: $0.04 (from tip jar)
→ But the *total amount paid for the item* is still $1.05.

If the question is “How much did Tommy end up paying out of his own money?” → $1.01
If the question is “What was the total cost of the army men including tax?” → $1.05
If the question is “How much did the cashier add from the dish?” → $0.04

Since no explicit question was given, but the story emphasizes the tax and the missing cents, and the image shows a 1¢ coin, the most logical inferred question is:

> What was the total price Tommy had to pay for the army men after tax?

That’s clearly stated in the text: $1.05

Also confirmed by:
- Scanner readout: “amber digits $1.05 flashed”
- Cashier says: “There, $1.05. Don’t forget next time.”

So regardless of who supplied the extra pennies, the total charged/paid for the item was $1.05.

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Final Answer:
$1.05