/ 9 November 2004

Man receives $370m tax bill

A man in Germany received a tax bill for the equivalent of $370-million after filing a tax return for income of just $21 000 dollars, a court heard on Tuesday.

The bill was the result of a simple typographical error by the Federal Tax Office in the Bonn suburb of Sankt Augustin, a judge at Bonn State Court heard.

Applying pressure for the case to be settled out of court speedily, the judge advised the taxpayer’s lawyers to seek $500 000 dollars in punitive legal fees — based on the exaggerated tax bill — if the Tax Office fails to resolve the case within three weeks. — Sapa-DPA