Thanks for the additional details @wilsonimport!
The WooCommerce Shipping & Tax plugin is built on top of services that run on WordPress.com, so, for that reason, it does require the site to be connected to WordPress.com.
Traditionally, Jetpack was required for the connection. However, later developments have allowed other plugins of ours (WooCommerce Payments and Google Listings & Ads) the ability to connect to WordPress.com without the Jetpack plugin.
I don’t know if that functionality will make its way to WooCommerce Shipping & Tax one day, but I’m sure the team appreciates your feedback.
Thank you!