It depends on the level of government and their sovereignty. If the government controls it's own currency, the purpose of taxes is not to pay for expenses, but to provision the government, create a demand for that currency, and create markets. Sovereign governments are in a perpetual state of deficit on purpose.

Governments in the Eurozone are not Sovereign because they don't have control over the currency and must use taxes to pay government expenses.

US states and cities also must use taxes to pay for government expenses.

So the real answer is complex, it depends on whether you are a sovereign government or not.

True, but America's history means that it has a relatively weak and slow federal government. Tax initiatives are some of the fastest things one can pass on the federal level.