It’s assumed that the accumulated VAT after 36 months is R159 and that we need to find the original purchase price. This question could be interpreted in two ways: simple VAT and compound VAT.
SIMPLE VAT
At 10% per year, that would be 30% after 3 years, so R159 is equivalent to 30%, making the purchase price 159/0.3=$530. After the first year the VAT would be 10% of R530 which is R53. The same amount of VAT is added each year, so the total amount would be 3×53=R159 after 3 years.
COMPOUND VAT
If the original purchase price was x, then after VAT on the first year, the value would rise to 1.1x. VAT on this comes to 1.1²x=1.21x for the second year and 1.1³x=1.331x for the third year. The total VAT is 1.331x-x=0.331x=159, so x=159/0.331=R480.36. After the first year the VAT would be R48.036 or about R48.04. This is added to the original purchase price, making about R528.40 for the second year. 10% of this is R52.84 approx, making R581.24 for the second year. 10% of this is R58.12, added to R581.24=R639.36, so total VAT is 639.36-480.36=R159.
(A third way to interpret the question would be simply to multiply 159 (assumed to be the annual VAT) by 3 to give the total VAT after 36 months=R477, but this doesn’t include the 10% factor. Therefore, it would be compound VAT, rising to 159(1.1)³=R211.63 in total after 36 months.)