13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Free cars from Oprah not totally free

Free cars from Oprah not totally free

Chris Proffitt/Eyewitness News

Sept. 23 - It was a blindly joyous moment for 276 Oprah audience members, some who seemed to forget that nothing is free.

So when the TV talk queen gave a new $28,000 Pontiac to each of them, it came with one catch, one now widely reported by the nation's newspapers and networks.

"Well, I still come out ahead regardless of the taxes. I still have a car that I wouldn't have had. I have to pay a little more in income tax and that's okay." Tracy Bray and her friends Kelly Belt and Karen Williams were part of the audience and, like nearly every winner, they'll pay roughly $7,000 in federal taxes for the car. Pontiac, picks up state and local taxes and licensing fees.

Despite what critics call the free car that's not free, Karen Williams says Oprah staff and Pontiac representatives made one thing clear. "We had the contract that said, 'You are responsible for federal tax.' We signed it and turned it into the Pontiac people and they said, 'Do you have any questions?"

Some audience members say they'll sell their cars to avoid the tax. Kelly Belt plans to keep hers, even though she doesn't remember in the excitement and chaos, being told about taxes on her car. "As for the day of the show, I could understand where they could read something, not really read it and then make assumptions."

While Oprah's kickoff to the so-called Wildest Dreams season granted a lot of wishes, Uncle Sam has the final words, free is never free.