Rhode Island mistakenly issued tax refund checks signed by Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse

Rhode Island issued 176 tax refund checks this week signed by iconic duo Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse — instead of the state treasurer and controller.

The misprint was a result of a technical glitch in the Division of Taxation’s automated refund check printing system, according to Jade Borgeson, chief of staff for the state’s Department of Revenue.

Mickey and Walt’s invalid signature lines were accidentally sourced from the Division of Taxation’s test print files, Borgeson said. The names of the state treasurer Seth Magaziner and state controller Peter Keenan should have been on the checks.

The checks were mailed to taxpayers Monday and were related to various business taxes, including sales tax, corporate and tax credit refunds. A majority of them were corporate tax refunds, Borgeson said.

The checks have since been voided and cannot be deposited. Corrected checks will be reissued to affected taxpayers within one week.

“The division is continuing to proactively contact impacted taxpayers to remedy the error, and apologizes for any inconvenience the error may have caused,” Borgeson said.

Taxpayers who received a misprinted check should contact the Department of Revenue.