Matthew was a Tax Collector, a hated and demonized person in ancient society.
2000 years later they still are......................
Taxes are needed and inevitable, the natural outworking of the civil authorities established by God, per Romans 13, and specifically approved by Jesus; if you have government of/by/for the people, there is no reason for squawking. Tax collectors are merely the mechanism for collecting them. Of course, where there is no redress, as under the Roman occupation, then hatred and demonization ensue.