I believe what is considered paying taxes is owing the government taxes. I do not believe it is counted as paying taxes if one then gets those taxes back. I believe that is the distinction people are often making when speaking about those too poor to pay taxes.
Come tax time, the IRS has a formula for what you SHOULD have paid and it gives you credits for certain things like keeping employment or having children which often times makes the math come up that the person who paid will get what they paid back.
That might fly with federal tax, but federal tax is not the only tax many people pay. They also pay state and in many cases city tax. And I know for a fact, when I was just starting out and making minimum wage in NYC, I got ... nothing... back from the taxes I paid into N.Y state and NYC tax... nothing
And while I did usually receive a refund from the feds, it was never the amount that I paid them. ( not including social security and unemployment insurance)
I believe if a person is making less then a certain amount, they should pay nothing in taxes.. nothing.. why.. because they can't afford it, and many times they have mouths for feed.. now.. not the following spring... when some sort of watered down refund comes.