I believe the answer is: was it right for business owners to pay low wages to their workers to finance philanthropic activities
Philanthropic activities tend to be funded by personal wealth that is held by the philanthropist. But, if the personal wealth that is used as fund is collected by exploiting other people, the moral source to the the philanthropic activities become really questionable.
The Yazoo land fraud scandal was a scandal that occurred in 1794 where Georgia's governor and state legislature sold land in what is now Alabama and Mississippi to political insiders at a very low price. The fraud was found out and it highlighted the government's conflict of interest in selling land cheaply to political insiders which greatly angered the public to this illegitimate and illegal activity.
The correct answer is to provide goods and services for the public
The Tax is a mandatory tax levied by the government. This means that it is an amount you pay and contributes to defray the state's administrative expenses. Failure to pay can result in fines and even legal punishment.
Looking this way it looks like something bad. But if you think about it, without collecting taxes, no country in the world would be able to return services and benefits to the population. It is as if you are investing in the government so that it can take care of its basic services (health, education, security, housing, public transport).