ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Pennsylvania resident gets a staggering $34 billion tax bill. Then, he realized what went wrong

The number was so large that it didn't even fit on a single line on the document.
PUBLISHED OCT 5, 2024
Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images |  ArtistGNDphotography
Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | ArtistGNDphotography

A Pennsylvania man was shocked to his core when he opened a bill from the state for $34 billion. After the initial shock, he looked at the bills and understood that there was a mistake. "I couldn't fathom what the number was at first. I'm like it looks like more than a million. The decimal points are dropped down. They're not even on the first line there are so many digits," he told Fox 43.

"I knew it was an obvious blunder. I don’t even make over $100,000 a year, so there’s no way I could owe anywhere near that," Barry Tangert told News 8, via NY Post. 

The Lancaster County resident said that the letter was one of the two things that had arrived in his mail. The first one was a refund check from the federal government for over $900, while the second opened was an income notice from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue claiming that he owed a jaw-dropping $34,576,826,561.47.



 

The number was so large that it didn't even fit on a single line on the document. There's absolutely no doubt that this was an error. However, he is still in the dark when it comes to what caused it. I don’t know if it was a computer glitch in the transmission or if it was an input error from my tax preparer," he said. 

Tangert later reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, which did provide a bit of relief to the man. "The first thing he said was, 'You had a good year.' And I said, 'I wish'" he said. The amount mentioned was triple the $11 billion America’s richest man Elon Musk says he owed the government in 2022.



 

Tangert later reached out to the Department of Revenue who asked him to wait while they look into it. He was told that the tax document that he had submitted had a bunch of 9s on the bottom, which made it look like his income was more than $99 billion. "It could have been an input from your tax firm or it could have been an interface problem with their program and our program, we don't know yet," Tangert recalled the department telling him. 

Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Scott Olson
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Scott Olson

After a few weeks, he got another letter in the mail that showed that it was actually the state that owed him $62, which made more sense to Tangert. "If I've ever owed anything to the state it was more than likely $100 or less," he added. "You'd have to be a trillionaire or $100 billion a year based on current tax rates, they tax about a third. You'd have to make $100 billion a year to be taxed 30 billion or thereabouts. Does anybody make $100 billion a year?" he told the publication.

Fortunately, the State Department has since resolved the issue which it chalked up to wrong numbers being inputted into the system. "I don’t know if it was a computer glitch in the transmission or if it was an input error from my tax preparer," he said.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The thrift store find turned out to be quite profitable for the seller named Kimberly.
14 hours ago
The creator showed proof that the store jacked up the price of an item by $3 during a sale.
1 day ago
The contestant, Linda Rivera failed to crack a seemingly easy phrase in the finale.
1 day ago
Fans couldn't believe that the player chose to miss out on such a good opportunity.
1 day ago
Host Drew Carey had to point out how loud the viewers were before the emotional victory.
2 days ago
While the guest got a massive appraisal for her grandma's ring, she was clear on her stand.
2 days ago
While some blamed the tough puzzle, a few were disappointed with the player, Rob Schwandt.
2 days ago
The player was a bit too excited for the trip and so was her husband in the audience.
3 days ago
The player, Ashton Hildebrand when on to win the showcase for prizes worth over $52,000.
3 days ago
The guest, Jad managed to bring a deal back from the dead and get exactly the amount he asked for.
3 days ago
While some players played it safe, others destroyed their marriages on the show.
3 days ago
Harvey was sure tha the player, Darren didn't want to be on the show at all.
4 days ago
The unexpected collaboration aims to solve a long-standing home surveillance issue.
4 days ago
The co-founders of Y'all Sweet Tea blew away the Sharks with their incredible numbers.
5 days ago
From his lips to his bald head, Harvey has to defends all sort of jabs.
5 days ago
The woman who gifted the painting to the owners had earlier sold it to another dealer as she couldnt sleep at night.
7 days ago
When it came to naming something of Harvey they would want to touch, the players didn't hold back
7 days ago
Rick Harrison's go to expert warned him not to touch it with a "10 foot pole."
7 days ago
The massive manufacturer has been operational for more than a hundred years now.
Oct 5, 2025