All local taxes are deductable from the gross amount used to calculate state taxes.  Likewise all state and local taxes are deductable from the gross amount used to calculate federal taxes.  The function should accept one parameter, the gross pay, and return one result, the total withholdings based on the above table and rules.  Again, the function should not do any output, but should just return a number.  Here is an example: Input: 1000.00, return 377.90.  Why not just 41% of 1000 = 410?  2% of $1000.00 is $20.00.  Now subtract the $20.00 out of the gross, leaving $980.00 as the base for calculating state taxes.   8% of $980.00 is $78.40.  Subtract $78.40 from the $980.00 to get $901.60, the base for calculating federal taxes.  31% of $901.60 is $279.50 (rounded to the nearest penny).  When $20.00, $78.40, and $279.50 are added together, the result is $377.90, which is the answer that should be returned from the function.  Note that these numbers are rounded to the nearest penny, which is possible with either the method of a number or by using . Purchase the answer to view it Purchase the answer to view it

The provided code snippet describes a function that calculates total withholdings based on a set of tax rules. The function takes one parameter, the gross pay, and returns the total withholdings as a result.

To understand the calculation process, let’s consider an example. Suppose the gross pay is $1000. The first step is to calculate 2% of the gross pay, which is $20. This amount is then subtracted from the gross pay, resulting in a base amount of $980. This base amount is used to calculate state taxes, which is equal to 8% of $980, amounting to $78.40. Subtracting this state tax from the base amount leaves us with $901.60, which is the base for calculating federal taxes. The federal tax is calculated as 31% of $901.60, which rounds to $279.50. Finally, all three amounts, $20, $78.40, and $279.50, are added together to yield a total withholding of $377.90.

By following the given rules, the function ensures that the proper amount is deducted from the gross pay to determine the total withholdings. It also mentions the significance of rounding the final results to the nearest penny, which can be accomplished using either a rounding method or the built-in round() function.

The function does not perform any output and only returns the total withholdings as a numerical value. It is designed to be used within a larger program or system that processes payroll and tax calculations. When calling the function, the gross pay needs to be passed as an argument, and the resulting total withholdings can be assigned to a variable or used for further computations.

However, it is important to note that the given code snippet is incomplete, as only the explanation of the function is provided without the actual implementation. In order to fully utilize the function, the code would need to be written to include the necessary function definition and calculation logic.