Total spending is always equal to total taxes, it is not a goal it is a definition.
It's neither; It is a massive misunderstanding, popular amongst simpletons.
Only you could think that definitions are simpleton misunderstandings. Loren understood what I wrote first time reading through.
Let's start with the second part, which you completely failed to understand.
Total Taxes = Direct Taxes + Indirect Taxes. I tried to explain that to you, and you snipped the explanation. I guess it was too hard for you.
You probably know what Direct Taxes are. It is when the government directly collects money from economic actors. Income tax, property tax, and sales tax are all obvious examples. So are many fees, such as your vehicle registration fee. It involves money going directly to the treasury.
What you don't get is the concept of an Indirect Tax. That is when value is extracted from the economy by means other than Direct Taxes.
One of the methods is devaluation. If the government prints more money, that devalues all existing money. You have just as much currency as you had before, but it purchases less. That is a transfer of value from you to the government without you doing anything. You didn't send any money to the government, but they still got value from you. MMT advocates are completely incapable of understanding this point, it runs counter to everything they believe.
One of the methods is borrowing. If a person has money they wish to invest, their options include bank deposits, commodities, stocks, corporate bonds, and government bonds, as well as less common investments. By borrowing, the government is diverting funds from those other options towards the government, soaking up the supply of loanable or investible funds and making it harder for those in other areas who might need those funds. Plus even if the debt is never paid back, there are maintenance fees for servicing the debt.
There are other methods as well. Passing the cost burden to others is one, such as when businesses are forced to collect and remit taxes but not paid for the service, such as when a store collects sales taxes or when an employer withholds income taxes. That increased cost is passed on. The customer pays higher prices as a result of the additional cost the store has to pay. The employee is paid less as a result of the additional cost the employer has to pay. The accountants aren't free you know.
All of these are ways value is transmitted from the economy to the government without an actual tax payment to the government.
Adding up the Direct Taxes and the Indirect Taxes is what gets you Total Taxes. As you should hopefully see by now, Total Taxes isn't just Income Taxes, Sales Taxes, etc. Those are the Direct Taxes. Total Taxes also includes Indirect Taxes.
Now, if you are ready to understand "Total Taxes = Direct Taxes + Indirect Taxes" maybe we can move on to the other statement of fact.