> I know the first million, as illustrated in the scenario this article presents, is exempted. I'm using myself as an example. The point still stands - extreme

> I know the first million, as illustrated in the scenario this article presents, is exempted. I'm using myself as an example. The point still stands - extreme wealth would be hidden, and the rest of us would have to pay. Except, the point doesn't really stand, does it? Those with "extreme wealth" will indeed be taxed, because those sums would be much greater than 150-200k. Some percentage will find ways to avoid it, but that is true with any law, and those that do will have to make some tradeoffs to do so. "The rest of us", which in this case includes you (and me), will not at all be affected by this. We would only be affected by this as we get closer to having that kind of extreme wealth ourselves. And that's the whole point of only taxing the larger amounts -- that it does not impact the rest of us, and in fact you are precisely not someone this will "bite in the ass". To go a bit further, you yourself say that you consider 150-200k to be a large sum of money, maybe even life-changing. All of these estate taxes, with their minimums in the millions, would absolutely still let you receive life-changing amounts of money as inheritance -- much larger than what you already consider to be life changing -- and only start taxing the portion of it that is more "excessive".