If you check the return status of backticks (qx) with $? you may get more information about your problem (Basic debugging checklist tip #7): 
print $? if $?;

[download]

Another quick thing to try is to replace the tilde with a full path: 

`tar -xf $tarfile -C /home/foo/path_to_dir`;

[download]

See also: What's wrong with using backticks in a void context?

In reply to Re: tar a files from loop by toolic
in thread tar a files from loop by sandy1028

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