$$ \begin{aligned} 9x-4 &= 8x+8&& \text{move the $ \color{blue}{ 8x } $ to the left side and $ \color{blue}{ -4 }$ to the right} \\[1 em]9x-8x &= 8+4&& \text{simplify left and right hand side} \\[1 em]x &= 12&& \\[1 em]x &= 12&& \\[1 em] \end{aligned} $$