> I thought that taxes were supposed to pay for basic neighborhood services Neighbourhood is the operative word here. In some parts of the rural United State

> I thought that taxes were supposed to pay for basic neighborhood services Neighbourhood is the operative word here. In some parts of the rural United States, homes are far away and far between. Public services of the kind expected in populated areas are impractical, particularly for protection of property rather than life. With that as a baseline, some "rural" areas maintain this peculiar, low-cost characteristic even as they become more populated. There's a degree of self-sorting behaviour as well, since some residents become attracted to the area specifically for its vanishingly small local tax burden.