Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Singer Aaron Carter filed a bankruptcy petition to shed more than $ 2 million in debt , mostly taxes owed from when he was making tons of money as a teen sensation . `` This is not a negative thing , '' Carter publicist Steve Honig told CNN . `` It 's actually very positive . It 's him doing what he needs to do to move forward . '' The U.S. government is Carter 's biggest creditor , according to the petition . He owes the Internal Revenue Service $ 1.3 million in back taxes from his income in 2003 , when Carter was just 16 . `` The bulk of the debt is from over 10 years ago when he was a minor and not in control of his finances , '' Honig said . `` This has happened to a lot of people who had fame at such at a very early age . '' Carter is left with very little to show for his early success , according to his bankruptcy petition . He had just $ 60 cash in his wallet and $ 917 in his checking account when he signed the petition last month . His bank savings account held just $ 5 . His personal property includes a 61-inch flat screen TV and his cell phone , all valued at just $ 500 . He does wear a $ 3,750 Breitling watch . Clothing , two laptops , a guitar and a Louis Vuitton backpack put his fortune at just $ 8,200 . Carter owns the publishing rights to the songs he wrote -- `` Saturday Night '' and `` One Better '' -- but he does n't currently get any royalties from them , the filing said . Still , Carter is going `` in the right direction '' and `` really working his ass off , '' Honig said . He acted in more than 400 performances in the off-Broadway cast of `` The Fantasticks '' last year . He 's currently on a 75-city tour of the United States , but the petition said he 's only earning about $ 2,000 a month for those performances . That money ends when the tour ends in December . Carter 's expenses are just $ 2,000 a month since he 's living with a relative in Port Richey , Florida , when he 's not on the road , it said . He dealt with substance-abuse issues , but Carter 's been `` completely clean of quite some time , '' Honig said . He spent time in drug rehab two years ago . Carter 's `` really gotten his act together and is really doing well , '' his publicist said .
` ` The bulk of the debt is from over 10 years ago when he was a minor , '' he says . Carter owes the IRS more than $ 1.3 million from when he was 16 . The man makes just $ 2,000 a month touring , the document says . He has $ 500 in his wallet and $ 917 in a checking account , filing fee .