Austrian Gets 29-Million-Euro Tax Bill by Mistake

A 22-year-old Austrian had the shock of his life when he received a tax bill for more than 29 million euros ($38 million), a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Agadir B. told the Heute daily he got the bill after filing his tax return for 2008, when he earned around 600 euros a month as a trainee, with the demand that he paid one percent -- 290,420.13 euros -- immediately.

"I completely flipped out," he said. "My mum nearly had a nervous breakdown."

His mother even phoned the tax office to query the bill and was told: "You don't have a discussion at the checkout at Billa (a supermarket chain), you just pay," he said.

However, a second letter later came through from the tax office, declaring the first one void and apologizing for the "technical error," the paper said.