I stand corrected. It’s mainly a means to determine the states representatives but as I read it, it does include taxes as well. By the way, my real name is Tanto so I am not taxed.
When the Constitution was written, it was thought that coupling taxes and representation in the House to the census would discourage states from inflating their reported number of residents because doing so would also raise the federal taxes that could be imposed on the state. In that small detail and in so many other respects, the Constitution aimed at creating a system of checks and balances. The Framers were shrewd, war tested realists who knew from experience that political power always offered temptations to abuse.