I never understood that - why do people brag about cheating the tax man? I have to make up the difference, in either (very slightly) reduced services or higher taxes.
America does not spend it's taxes wisely. You can live in Canada for a similar tax load as a lot of people in California, yet not have universal healthcare, drive on roads that are in horrible conditions, deal with a horrible DMV, see a lot of obviously mentally ill people not being taken care of and live in unsafe conditions with a lot of bad school systems. There are also a lot of tax rules that are not nice to deal with that you don't have to deal with in Canada.
I think people don't mind taxes nearly as much if they feel like they are getting good value for their money. In the USA, you feel like your just getting shafted by the government half the time. In Canada not so much.
Because it's a "fuck you" to The Man™. A marginal several thousand or whatever is probably a fraction of the amount that's lost daily across the federal government due to negligence.
Presumably because you don't think those services are worth it or that the money is intelligently spent.
Personally, despite being aware of those issues, I take some manner of pride in the fact that I declare my side income properly and pay taxes on it, even when the people who paid me make an explicit point to pay with cash. I do my fair share, and that's why I feel entitled to whine about people doing a shoddy job at managing it. ;)
I think people don't mind taxes nearly as much if they feel like they are getting good value for their money. In the USA, you feel like your just getting shafted by the government half the time. In Canada not so much.