Estate taxes are often on the order of ~20%+, so they can necessitate the sale of assets (real estate, companies, etc.) - and in the case of a sudden death, thi

Estate taxes are often on the order of ~20%+, so they can necessitate the sale of assets (real estate, companies, etc.) - and in the case of a sudden death, this can come at a very inopportune time, as well as being stressful on people who have just had a loved one die. An annual wealth tax of ~1% doesn't come with the same complications - just like income tax, it can be predicted, saved for, etc. Also most people with sizable estates (who have some idea they'll die in the next several years) can gift away or otherwise arrange to avoid estate taxes pretty successfully, so I don't think of them as especially useful. I don't worry about it too much since estate taxes are usually on quite large estates (>$5mil), but I just don't see it as a very good tax.