A good business works on maximizing profits first, minimizing tax outflows second. Although many business in the tech, pharma and financial sector do both very well at the same time.
A business has to pay corporate taxes, sales taxes, import duties, as well as surcharges. The key to remember is that every transaction has to go through some tax rule. That is how governments work.
An entrepreneur must understand all the possible taxes his/her line of business are liable for.
Please also see the 'legal issues' section in freelancing guide. for more or taxes, insurance and other interesting (indeed) stuff.