So You Want To Be On The Price Is Right

Like many of you I have thought about being on "The Price Is Right'  game show and winning  an all expenses paid vacation to some exotic spot in the world.But hold on partner there is no such thing as a free lunch or an all-expenses paid trip. The fact of the matter is  as soon as you win anything on the show,if you are lucky enough to do so,you'll owe thousands of dollars in taxes which must be paid before you  ever see your prize.   A recent winner on the show Andrea Schwartz won $33,000 worth of prizes, including a Mazda 2 compact car,a pool table and a shuffle board table. Andrea says after the show,you fill out some paperwork saying you'll pay taxes on the prizes you won and then you have to pay  California state income tax ahead of time and of course the IRS wants their cut as well. Andrea says sometimes you wind up with prizes you don't even want but you still have to pay taxes on them, like the shuffle board table which she sold on Craigslist for less than the item was worth because it was too big for her tiny apartment. As for the car she won it was shipped from Los Angeles to a dealer near her home in Reno Nevada,before she could claim it she had to pay $2,500 in taxes and you have only ten days to pay the taxes and pick your car and if you can't arrange to pay the taxes within the ten days you forfeit your prize. And for those who win a trip on the show, there is no cash value option, you must take the vacation to whatever country you won and the tickets are nontransferable you take exactly what you won, or you take nothing at all, after springing for the taxes and the income taxes. So much for a free vacation or a free car, still want to be on "The Price Is Right"   i'll pass.