I can't believe we dedicate law enforcement resources to policing what amounts to a global tax avoidance marketplace.
Jokes aside, taxes are an awesome social construct that should fund many essential things that citizens need such as a stable infrastructure, utilities, healthcare, public education, etc. The problem is that you can't really choose how you want your taxes to be spent, since the popular thing is to elect someone else to (mis)manage the taxes for you.
Government mismanagement and corruption is pervasive at all levels - city, state and federal. I live in a high COL area with high taxes, yet the roads, schools, and other publicly funded things are trash. It's crystal clear that the money I pay in taxes is not being spent appropriately, so it's no wonder people try to avoid paying taxes altogether.
We need an elective tax system that lets you choose where you want the tax money to be funneled. For a simple and naïve example, say you have a flat 20% federal tax, that lets you pick which public institutions you want the funds to be delivered to. Maybe 5% to NASA, 5% to veterans, and the remaining 10% could be left up to the government to decide. This would be an example of "voting with your wallet," but it's just a fantasy. The government will never give that kind of power to us.
So to this I say, just keep paying your taxes like the model citizen that you are, and don't question it! I hope you have fun paying the government forever on any private property or income that you have, since you have no choice. It's not your fault that you don't have a choice either, since it was robbed from you. You were born into circumstance. Almost all land on earth has been claimed by governments or private entities, so you have no where left to turn. Just by virtue of being alive, you owe the government overlords for all of your creature comforts: the water you drink, the land you live on, the food you eat, the hole you shit in, and so much more. They will steal your labor in exchange for pieces of paper that will ultimately find their way right back to them.
In this system how would we manage a situation where some organizations are over funded to a drastic degree (though who decides that?) and other vital services (and who decides what is vital?) are underfunded? I'm not convinced that the American people could come together and vote with our wallets in a way that results in a balanced budget.
Edit: I shouldn't have specified American, I'm sure plenty of countries would struggle with this :)
It's a tragedy that an invaluable public resource like Wikipedia is forced to do pledge drives, while at the same time, the government spends trillions on defense against the better wishes of practically the entire population.
I think I'd be comfortable giving the people some financial autonomy to try to change such a messed up situation. After all, you can't truly say that something works until you test it out.
What you need are leaders with the countries best interests at heart.
How do we solve for that?
Feels a bit like it is a zero sum game to me.
Spending millions to chase tax money is just the machine feeding itself. No one is harmed when a Picasso changes hands without a percentage being handed to the local burocracy. Last I checked we still have rampant crime in all the inner cities the world over. Fix that first.