A tax refund from... Mickey Mouse? Rhode Island offers explanation after 176 sent out

Dozens of Rhode Island residents likely did a double take when they saw who signed their tax refund check.

General Treasurer Mickey Mouse?

State Controller Walt Disney?

Sure enough, Mickey and Walt’s signatures appeared on 176 refunds — the result of a technical error, state officials said, according to media reports.

The names and signatures of Mickey Mouse and his creator, Walt Disney, are used by the state for internal testing, a spokesperson with the Rhode Island Division of Taxation told WPRI. The test signatures were accidentally put on real checks, the TV station reported.

Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner and State Controller Peter Keenan should have had their names on the checks, WJAR reported. The TV station displayed a photo of one of the faulty checks featuring the iconic duo’s signatures.

The checks, which “were for business taxes, including sales, corporate and tax credit refunds,” have been voided, The Providence Journal reported. New checks will be sent to each of the recipients, according to the newspaper.

“We have asked Taxation to expedite sending the corrected checks and will be supporting efforts to ensure that this does not happen again,” a spokesman for the treasurer told the Providence Journal.