There are so many mature and overly effective modern means to preserve wealth. Modern trusts, LLCs, corporations ad nauseum. It is embarrassing to make such a claim "(s)o much value is destroyed by this form of taxation" in 2026; So much concentrated and localized value was potentially diverted back then under such specialized and naive conditions, which is far from common now. And to the point, it merely could have happened and actually did not.

Exactly. It's hard to read a sob story about some private company getting liquidated to pay taxes when the far more common abuse of inheritance tax laws is the asset step up basis on death. We should narrow down considerably the amount of assets eligible for that treatment. As it is we just perpetuate ever increasing family dynasties having no relationship to merit.