I am quite happy paying my bills myself. When I had a mortgage, I always paid my own taxes. Why pay money into escrow every month when I can just pay it myself. Now that my mortgage is paid off, it's the same. I pay my taxes every quarter.

I think for some folks that prefer not to budget themselves, it forces them to pay there taxes on time by removing the responsibility...or its a convenience..

And in a state like mine with high property taxes, money in escrow gets no interest on the monthly deposits, so thats money lost unnecessarily.