I once had an auditor tell me that they are more suspicious of those who do not minimize taxes as they were those who fail to report income that the IRS is aware of but unreported on the return. Those who do not claim legitimate deductions are looked at as hiding something big per one examiner. She also stated that IRS examiners know all the "tips" for minimizing tax due and they certainly utilize every one applicable to their individual circumstances.
Oh and just as an aside, if you want to help the country beyond paying the minimum taxes that you legally owe, at any time a person can mail a check to the US Treasury with a letter that you would like said payment to be applied to deficit reduction.
Arbitrary rules set by states is not a moral barometer.
Paying taxes is not synonymous with being nice. Filing a business tax return and paying all taxes owed is a legal obligation. Filing a personal return, if you owe taxes, is a personal obligation. If you do not owe taxes, you are not obligated to file a return; however, it is required if you would like to receive the refund you are owed.
There is no legal obligation to run your business in a way that maximizes taxes due to the government and no business operates in such a manner. I seriously doubt you could find many, if any, personal returns where a filer completes their return in a manner to pay the most taxes they can by ignoring legal deductions, credits, etc. Nice has nothing to do with it.