Granite is pretty nice considering the services we get and the rather low taxes we pay to receive them. Head up the hill if you want to pay more for less.
But to try and answer your question (not necessarily from a Granite City point of view though): Low taxes are not beneficial if they deprive society of its core public infrastructure. Taxes should be sufficient to support the infrastructure, provide every citizen with clean parks, every child with a good education and quality parks / leagues to play in, etc. If they are not sufficient, then they are not high enough. Never should any tax dollars be spent subsidizing private businesses & development, yet I see this constantly, even in places where basic services cannot be sustained.