> Why is liquidating their shareholdings suddenly a problem only when they need to pay taxes?

It's not, and I don't think anyone said it was.

The problem is in the calculation of "net worth". And, more importantly, the difference is that people choosing to put their money into something is not the same as enabling it to be taken by force.

>It's not, and I don't think anyone said it was.

Yeah you did. You wrote "he couldnt turn it [his illiquid assets] into cash even if he wanted to".

>The problem is in the calculation of "net worth".

That is not a problem.

Let them value their own assets. If they value their ming vase at $10k then the government reserves the right to buy it for...$10k. They might get away with avoiding paying taxes. Or the government might get a bargain. The incentive, though, is to be scrupulously honest and accurate.

Some people obviously wouldn't like being put in such a position.

> And, more importantly, the difference is that people choosing to put their money into something is not the same as enabling it to be taken by force.

Im not 100% sure but I think this falls under the category of just saying "wealth taxes not fair!"