When Barry Tangert, a Lancaster County resident, opened a bill from the Pennsylvania state government, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The staggering amount on the invoice—$34 billion—left him utterly bewildered, especially since he doesn’t even come close to earning over $100,000 a year.
Adding to the confusion, alongside this mind-boggling bill was a federal government refund check of just over $900. But it was the income billing notice from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue that truly shocked Tangert, claiming he owed an astronomical $34,576,826,561.47. The figure was so immense that it didn’t even fit on a single line in the document.
Recognizing the mistake immediately, Tangert couldn’t fathom how such a colossal error had occurred. To put it into perspective, this amount was more than triple what America’s richest man, Elon Musk, owed the government in 2022.
Despite his efforts to understand the situation, Tangert remained puzzled as to how the error had reached him. Was it a computer glitch during transmission, or perhaps an input error from his tax preparer?
These questions lingered as he sought answers from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s customer service line, where he found little assistance. The representative’s initial response, “You had a good year,” only added to the confusion, prompting Tangert to humorously reply, “I wish.”
The perplexing bill was one of two items Tangert received in the mail that weekend, leaving him scratching his head and eager to uncover the truth behind the baffling $34 billion income notice.