Think things can be as easy as a simple flat tax?  Think again.  Legislators never seem to make things that easy – they complicate as many things as they can.  So, in an effort to give you a break from your boring taxes, here are a few of some of the most ridiculous taxes across the country.

Arkansas: Pet Grooming Tax

Among the services that the state subjects to the 6% sales tax are body piercing, gutter cleaning, and pet grooming.

California:  Ottoman Empire Victims’ Exemption

If you were persecuted between 1915 and 1923, you get a tax exemption.

Hawaii:  Tree Deduction

If your tree was approved by an arborist advisory committee and you get the right notarial stamp, you are eligible for a $3000 deduction.

Maryland: Oyster Break

Maryland offers what is called the aquaculture float credit, which is available to people who harvest oysters, but not any other shellfish.  Strange.  Why not crabs or mussels?

New Jersey: Helping Families

You get a break if you spend more than $35.64 on family leave insurance.

New York: Haunted House Tax

Musical comedies, operas, and chamber music are exempt from the sales tax.  But, not a Halloween show with music, if the admission charge exceeds 10 cents.  Why this discrimination against ghouls and goblins?

South Carolina: Aid For Deceased Deer

You get $50 off your taxes if your deer carcass helps the needy.  I guess if you hit a deer in South Carolina, just remember to bring it with you and donate it.

I’m sure at one point or another, we have all thought about deleting our social networking accounts, but this day in age, that is virtually impossible.  I’m sure everyone is well aware that Facebook has had its history of privacy scandals.  CEO Mark Zuckerberg is constantly trying to push what privacy means in the 21st century, but how available should we all be on the Internet?  Last week, Facebook announced on its Developers blog that it was making it possible for third-party applications to gain access to users’ mobile phone numbers and addresses.  By early Monday morning the Facebook team had dialed back the change until further notice.

Some of the privacy issues have been just too much for users, resulting in cancelled accounts.  But more and more organizations are joining the Facebook Connect network and incorporating the site’s development tools into their own.  It’s getting to the point where you’re at a disadvantage if you don’t have a Facebook account; you can use it to log in with the same username and password on more than two million sites; it’s not just for checking in on your cousin’s newest baby pictures.  So, here’s the trick: Go into  “Stealth” mode – be nearly invisible.  Nobody will be able to view your photographs, see your activity or where you’ve checked in except for existing friends — but still have an account to use around the web.

If you’re ready to move into Facebook stealth mode, follow these simple steps:

• Visit Facebook.com, log in to your profile and click “Account” in the top-right corner.  Choose “Privacy Settings”

• From the “Privacy Settings” page, click on “View Settings” to see who can search for you, send messages to your account, see your education and work settings and more. Change all of these drop-down menus to “‘Friends Only”

• Return to the “Privacy Settings” page and choose “Customize Settings” near the bottom of the page.  This new page will load a number of different privacy options, but you’ll want to click through each one and change the setting to “Only Me” so that nobody else can see your Facebook activity.

• Stay on the “Customize Settings” page and scroll down to “Things Others Share”:  Here, you’ll want to edit and disable settings so that your friends are unable to write on your wall, comment on posts and check you in to places.

• Return to the “Privacy Settings” page and, under “Apps and Websites” in the bottom-left corner, select “Edit Your Settings”:  This page shows all of the third-party websites and applications that you have given access to some of your Facebook information.  If you see anything on this list that you want to remove, just click to remove it from the list.

• Stay on the “Apps and Websites” page, scroll down to “Instant Personalization” and select “Edit Settings”:  Uncheck the box at the bottom of this page to block other websites from accessing your Facebook interests.  Select “Confirm” when a pop-up asks you if you’re sure you want to disable this option.

• Return to the “Apps and Websites” page, scroll down to “Public Search” and select “Edit Settings”:  To keep search engines from finding your Facebook profile, uncheck the box on this new screen.

At a national average of $3.05 per gallon for regular unleaded, the price of gas has reached its highest level since the fall of 2008.  At that price, gasoline plays a major role in your monthly budgeted car expenses.  In order to help balance out your budget, here are five ways you can save at the pump:

1) Maintain the Correct Tire Pressure

Keeping the correct PSI, or pounds per square inch, in your car’s tires will give you better gas mileage.  If your car is equipped with a tire pressure monitor system, don’t dismiss any alarms as false.  Pressure increases as you drive and tires warm up, so a low-pressure alarm when you start driving that goes away later means tire pressure is on the border of being too low and should be adjusted.  Check your owner’s manual or the label on the inside of the driver’s door for the correct PSI rating.  The number on the tire’s sidewall is the maximum PSI and should not be used.

Don’t Let Your Car ‘Warm Up’ Before You Drive It

Technology in cars built in the past 10 years allows your car to operate at very near its top efficiency the moment it starts.  Letting a car idle, such as when you wait at the curb for a passenger or wait for the heater to kick in, is simply a waste of gas.

Don’t Use a Higher Grade of Gasoline Than Is Recommended

Putting a higher octane gasoline in your car than the manufacturer recommends won’t improve your fuel economy, so it’s not worth the extra price you’ll pay per gallon.  Check your owner’s manual or the label on the gas-tank door for the recommended octane for your car, and fill up with that.  On the flip side, don’t use a lower octane than is recommended, because it may actually worsen your car’s fuel economy and could damage your engine.

Slow Down

Slower speeds win the fuel-economy race and can save you a bundle.  Avoid being a lead foot by accelerating from a stop and by driving over the speed limit on the highway.  Jack-rabbit starts simply waste gas and only get you to the next traffic light faster, where your car will idle longer.  Cars get better gas mileage driving at 65 mph than they do at higher speeds.  Cruise control can help you maintain a steady speed, too, which will further improve fuel economy, especially on the highway.

Get the Junk Out of Your Car

The heavier your car is, the more energy it needs to move, so get all the excess gear out of your car when you’re not using it.  Carrying around items you don’t need only worsens your car’s gas mileage unnecessarily.  In addition, the less aerodynamic your car is, the worse its fuel economy.  If you have a rooftop carrier or carry items such as bicycles or skis on your roof, remove these items when they’re not in use to improve your fuel economy.

It seems we will all get three extra days to file our taxes this year.  They’ll be due on Mon., April 18.  Why is this you may ask – It’s not that pesky processing delay the IRS keeps telling us about.  Instead, the extra days are as a result of Emancipation Day.  It is a little-known Washington, DC holiday that celebrates the freeing of slaves in the District.

The holiday actually falls on Saturday, April 16, but it is observed in D.C. on Friday, April 15.  That prompted the IRS to extend the tax filing deadline to April 18 this year.  Under the tax code, filing deadlines can’t fall on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.  The last time an extension was granted for this reason was in 2007.

This won’t have much effect on the processing delay though.  The delay, caused by Congress waiting until late December to pass new tax policies, simply means that the 50 million taxpayers who itemize their taxes on a Schedule A form can’t file until February.  However, the IRS estimates that less than 9 million taxpayers will end up being impacted by the delay, based on historical filing patterns.

With lenders still especially skittish about making new loans, credit bureaus and others are offering services that help banks probe into your financial skeletons.  The new offerings include ways to look at your rent and utility payments, figure out your income, gauge your home’s value and even rate your banking habits based on details like whether your direct deposits have stopped.

When applying for a loan, your credit record still matters, of course, but here are some newer ways lenders and financial-services companies are sizing up your financial behavior and credit-worthiness:

Bank-Depositor Behavior Scores

Fair Isaac, the creator of the widely used FICO credit score, is marketing bank-depositor behavior scores, which are used by banks to assess their own customers.  The scores are based on balances, deposit records, and withdrawal activity.  Unlike credit scores, which are most affected after payments are late or credit is maxed out, behavior scores can be a leading indicator of credit risk.  They also can help banks identify which of their customers might be ripe for additional services and rewards programs and which might need special attention because, for instance, their direct deposits had stopped.

Income Estimation

The bureaus are able to use credit-record information, such as the size of your credit lines and the age and size of your mortgage, and plug it into models to predict your earnings.  Those estimates also may be used to double-check the income you report on credit applications or to determine if you should be preapproved for credit.  You can’t see those estimates. But if you are denied credit because of them, you must be given a chance to provide additional information.

Rent Payments

Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, bought RentBureau, which collects rental-payment data from large property managers and expects to integrate that information into credit records before the end of the year.  Even if those consumers don’t want credit, that information could help them win better rates from insurers, which may use insurance scores based on credit records, and fatten up thin credit files, which some employers check before making hiring decisions.

Collection Triggers

If you owe money, you can run, but you can’t hide.  Credit bureaus can now send daily reports to collection companies when a debtor’s financial status changes—say, if new employment information appears or if a debt starts to decline.  A drop in credit use would indicate that the consumer has more capacity to pay and a better chance of repaying other outstanding debts.

Home Values

As home values have plummeted and foreclosures have soared in many states, all lenders have become more cautious.  Using home values as a factor in credit decisions doesn’t appear to be widespread, but it may come into play.  Of course, it also could work in your favor if you are one of the roughly 25 million Americans who owns a home outright.

Your Wealth

Information about your assets other than homes and cars, which aren’t part of the credit record, may soon play a bigger role in your financial life.  With a better sense of a consumer’s balance sheet, lenders might be able to target potential customers better and also have a fuller sense of their likely risk.  Equifax, another of the big three credit bureaus, offers financial-service providers an estimate of liquid wealth as part of a financial “suite” of information.

As all of these tools become more widespread, those are careful in all aspects of their financial lives may be rewarded, while those who are irresponsible, may face further penalties.

It has been all over the news this year:  Americans have really struggled to keep their credit under control.  Earlier this year, FICO, the company responsible for the credit scoring system, said 25.5% of Americans had sub-par scores of 600 or below, and the latest data from the Federal Reserve indicate consumer credit card debt increased by $6.5 billion in the third quarter of 2010.  Despite this, there are a few steps you can take to start 2011 off on the right foot, credit-wise.

Run your credit report- Consumers are eligible to receive one free credit report annually, as part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so if you haven’t taken the government up on this offer, then now’s the time to do it.  You can get a free credit report from any of the three major reporting agencies at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Pay off holiday debts before New Year’s Eve- Any debt you carry into 2011 is going to be quite costly, as interest rates currently remain pretty high, at around 14.7%.  Consider paying off your December credit card bill as soon as possible, even if it is before the bill arrives in the mail.

Don’t close the store cards you opened up during the holiday season- Saving 10% to 15% off when buying presents in bulk may entice many consumers to open store credit cards, despite their apparent drawbacks and the fact that a large number of credit inquiries can actually drop your credit score.  However, closing these accounts once you’ve paid off your balance won’t repair any damage done over the holidays.  If anything, it will lower your score even more since terminating an account right after it was opened tells FICO that you couldn’t afford the credit line to begin with.  Keep the card and use it responsibly, only charging up to about 10% of the credit limit.

Review the fine print on your credit card contract- The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 provides consumers with many protections they didn’t have before, but it’s far from being an iron-clad piece of legislation.  For example, the CARD Act doesn’t prohibit credit card issuers from raising interest rates; it just makes it a little more difficult for them to do so.  It also doesn’t require any notice if your credit card issuer has lowered your credit limit or closed your card.

Protect your identity- People should be on high alert for during the holiday season, but, it’s actually right after New Year’s that cyber-criminal come out of the woodwork.  You will be receiving your 1099s, bank statements, and important tax documents in the mail come January, all of which have your name, address, and Social Security number on them.  Make sure you keep a watchful eye out.

Who amongst you has not received your refund check??  Many of you could receive that check from the IRS — just before the holidays.  Wednesday, the IRS is expected to release the annual list of people whose refund checks were returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable.  Last year, the IRS had over $123 million in returned checks.  The list won’t be coming out until later today though.  Make sure to check if you are still waiting.

To access the IRS Website, where you can find your missing check, click HERE.

There seems to be more and more scams every year around the Holiday season.  This year, however, fraudsters are attempting to lure teens and tweens onto websites by promising them free stuff in exchange for playing games, watching videos, and filling out surveys.  While these websites do exist all year round, kids tend to be more attracted to them around the holidays.  One of the predominant reasons is that kids are busy surfing the web, looking up toys, and making lists of what they want Mom and Dad to buy them.  And while your kids are probably searching legitimate sites, at the same time, the illegitimate ones pop up too.

A second reason is because you may have already laid out a list of items you are not planning to buy your kids this holiday season.  So if you’re not going to give him an Xbox 360 and he doesn’t have the money to buy it on his own, then these websites that promise him a free game system are almost too tempting to pass up.  What kid wouldn’t want a free gaming system?

So what happens if your teenager does start giving out his name, email address and other personal information?  His data is then sold to marketers and in a worst case scenario it could be used for identity theft.  Parents also need to worry about “cookies” and malware when kids go onto these sites.

As for those prizes, chances are your kid is never going to actually get his hands on a new iPad or Xbox.  These sites require users to fill out endless surveys and watch too many videos, which force most people to give up after a couple of weeks.  And even if your youngster sees the process through, the scam artists make it so difficult to redeem the prizes that nearly no one ever wins.  In the rare case your kid does actually score an Xbox, chances are he will be told that the gaming system is currently out-of-stock.

What’s a parent to do?  Buying your kid whatever he wants clearly isn’t the answer.  Sure, it would stop the temptation to chase free stuff, but it would create so many other issues.  Instead, warn your child to avoid these sites and to NEVER give out his personal information.  Then, if he really feels he must have the latest gaming system, let him earn it the old fashioned way by saving up his allowance or by getting a job, if he’s old enough to work.  Finally, parents who aren’t sure if a website is legit or not can look it up on SiteJabber.com.

Despite the fact that we would all like to think that such a thing as free money exists, alas, it does not … unless, of course, you want to open a checking account.  Several banks have started offering cash just to get new customers in the door.  But hidden in the fine print, are fees and rules that will wipe out the supposed windfall.  Cash incentive offers have more than doubled over the last year.

For the banks, this is a calculated trade-off.  As they start lending again, banks need more cash from deposit accounts to help fund those car loans and mortgages.  So while a handout from a bank might feel like you’ve won the lottery, you’re actually handing over the real prize: your money.  Banks are targeting “good” would-be customers, who are likely to maintain high balances and use their debit cards frequently.  In turn, they hope new account-holders will raise banks revenues and apply for loans down the road.

But, if you are a savvy consumer, you already knew there’s no such thing as free money.  Expect to jump through serious hoops, just to qualify.  For starters, you don’t get the cash right away.  You first have to meet certain requirements, many aimed at simply getting more of your money: To get $300 at Citi, you’d have to open a Citigold interest checking account and deposit $1,000 by Nov. 18.  Then, you’ll have to maintain an average daily balance of $1,000 through the end of the month.  You’ll also have to sign up for three more Citi products – like a savings account, certificate of deposit or a credit card within two months of opening the account.  And when you finally get the money, expect a bill come tax time.  All of these cash bonuses will be taxed as regular income.  If you’re in the 25% tax bracket, that $300 award will drop to $225.

So here’s the rub –

Minimum Required Balance

Consumers who receive cash offers for a new account should watch out for minimum balance requirements, which more checking accounts require these days.  The average minimum balance requirement is $3,883 for a no-fee interest-bearing checking account, up 15% from last year, according to Bankrate.com.  That minimum falls to $249 on non-interest checking – still 34% higher than last year.  The average customer who falls below the threshold pays a fee as high as $13.  Look for accounts with zero minimum balance requirements.

Debit Card Rules

At Chase, consumers need just $25 to open Chase Checking and to get up to $125 cash bonus.  But account-holders will be charged $6 per month if they don’t buy something with their debit card five times each month or have at least one monthly direct deposit posted to their account.  For banks, this proves especially lucrative because they make money with interchange fees.

Overdraft Fees

Along with cash bonuses, new checking accounts come with a hard sell on overdraft coverage.  AVOID IT.  The fees kick in when a consumer withdraws more money from their checking account than they have.  As of August, new Federal Reserve rules prevent banks from automatically enrolling consumers in debit-card overdraft coverage, which permits purchases to go through even if the consumer doesn’t have enough money in their checking account, thereby allowing banks to collect their fee.  Now, customers who do nothing will have their overdraft purchases declined.

We may be inclined to classify a purchase as an impulse buy the second it is proven to be frivolous, but what exactly should be considered one?  “By definition, impulse buying is any purchase made without any preconceived plans,” Michael McCall, professor and chair of Ithaca College’s Department of Marketing and Law, explains.  This means that an impulse buy can include buying a pack of gum while in line at grocery store or purchasing a Rolls Royce while out window shopping.

To capitalize on consumers’ general unpredictability, stores are always looking for ways to get you to make additional or more expensive purchases.  Interestingly enough though, the tactics differ dramatically depending on the price of the item.  Retailers typically get consumers to pick up small items by overloading their check-out areas and carefully organizing in-store displays.

Big ticket items, conversely, are impulsively purchased when a customer considers them scarce.  This means, for example, that you’re more likely to pick up a cashmere sweater when it’s the last one on the rack, especially if another customer is eyeing it.  Similarly, the retailer can achieve the same result by offering a provisional discount, the idea being that you can only get that car at that price at that very moment.

While the idea that you can be manipulated into buying may seem rather daunting, recent research indicates that we may not be as controlled by our impulses as we think.  A 2009 study led by Wharton marketing professor David Bell argues that only 20% of purchases can actually be considered unplanned.  He explains that you can’t classify a choice between two brands as unplanned if you intended to buy that particular category of item to begin with.  For example, choosing Coke or Pepsi can’t be considered an impulse buy if you know you are going to buy soda.

The same logic can be similarly applied to most big ticket purchases.  Additionally, purchases that may indeed be considered unplanned aren’t necessarily problematic.

Go to the store with a plan:  Your inclination to impulse shop is determined primarily by how much time you spend in the store and where you travel while in it.  As such, the most frugal shoppers are those who enter a shop with a plan and subsequently stick to it.  For example, taking the extra time to write out a list before going to the grocery store may actually minimize the items that make it into your cart.

Stick to a budget:  Minimize big ticket impulse purchases or, more pointedly, to avoid jumping at a retailer’s “one time only” deal, don’t allow yourself to purchase anything that will put you over your monthly budget.  Retailers have become increasingly aggressive these days in an attempt to coerce even careful shoppers.

Visit stores during off-peak hours:  To minimize getting stuck and/or redirected, you should try to visit stores during off-peak business hours.  This can be as simple as visiting a supermarket in the early afternoon or as extreme as avoiding all retail stores on Black Friday.

AVOID online shopping:  Online shopping is especially dangerous for impulse buyers. Online retailers are increasingly good at playing the scarcity card, as Amazon’s listing for Apple’s popular iPad. The page pointedly lets consumers know that they should “order soon” as there are only four of the devices left in stock.

Cash is King:  Online purchases are also susceptible to impulses in that they require a credit card or other electronic mode of payment.  Consumers tend to become more frivolous when they break out the plastic.