You might not see a dollar's worth of return in a dollar's tax, but that's probably because you've never lived in a failed state (like Syria is sadly now).
If you live in the U.S. and have the time and energy to post comments here, your home (whether you rent or own) is probably safe, you can put your money in a bank and expect to get it back when you ask, if you are accused of a crime you have an opportunity to defend yourself, if you are the victim of a crime you have a reasonable expectation that the state (e.g. police and prosecutors) will help you, when you retire you have health insurance a little income (Social Security) ... etc.
These are a very few of the benefits of living in a civil society. They all cost money, which we pay in taxes.
Why does it matter when the tax payer gets something back? And do I get nothing back from the income taxes I pay today? If I pay income taxes today to buy a ship for the U.S. Navy, and that ship is used 10 years later to defend the port where I work, does that change how I view the income tax paid today?
Interesting game theory question: if we assume that "both sides" of the political spectrum always play that game, how should politicians respond? By being more honest (and still be assumed to be playing that game) or by being less honest (because they'll be assumed to be playing that game anyway)?
Note the word "income" - this kind of "X% of earners pay Y% of income taxes quote" deliberately excludes what are called "payroll taxes" in the U.S. Payroll taxes (basically Social Security and Medicare taxes) are regressive (fall more heavily on lower incomes). They're also paid as a percentage of income (like income taxes) so it's easy to think they would naturally be part of "income" taxes.
If you live in the U.S. and have the time and energy to post comments here, your home (whether you rent or own) is probably safe, you can put your money in a bank and expect to get it back when you ask, if you are accused of a crime you have an opportunity to defend yourself, if you are the victim of a crime you have a reasonable expectation that the state (e.g. police and prosecutors) will help you, when you retire you have health insurance a little income (Social Security) ... etc.
These are a very few of the benefits of living in a civil society. They all cost money, which we pay in taxes.