Returning a formatted string in python

Question

def compute_tax(gross_pay):
    tax = gross_pay * 0.15
    return "PHP {:,.2f}".format(tax)

I am trying to return the tax in a formatted string, but it generates an error TypeError: can't multiply sequence by non-int of type 'float' Why does this happen? The gross_pay is float. I also tested this function using pytest and it worked fine. But when I run the program itself, it crashes. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

If your other function is returning gross_pay as a string, you can always convert it to a float.

def compute_tax(gross_pay):
    gross_pay = float(gross_pay)
    tax = gross_pay * 0.15
    return "PHP {:,.2f}".format(tax)