Sure they do ... they (ostensibly) go to paying for the infrastructure that supports that workplace: the roads and mass transit that leads from the worker's hom

Sure they do ... they (ostensibly) go to paying for the infrastructure that supports that workplace: the roads and mass transit that leads from the worker's home to the workplace, the police and fire brigade that protect's the workplace's capital investments, etc. That's not to say that tax funds are always perfectly allocated ... of course they're not. But they're not worthless either.