> aren’t the inheritors gaining wealth they did not have before? In terms of stocks and land, yes and no. They are receiving assets they did not have before, a

> aren’t the inheritors gaining wealth they did not have before? In terms of stocks and land, yes and no. They are receiving assets they did not have before, and those assets have a market value that is not realized until they sell them. They are receiving paper wealth, and while paper wealth can be beneficial (you can borrow against it), it is not the same as actual spendable cash. A government could tax them on the value of those assets at the time of transfer, but that may require the inheritor to dispose of some or all of the assets in order to pay the tax bill. Governments typically require their citizens to pay taxes in currency, not assets. Note that governments do sometimes treat asset transfers this way (e.g. restricted stock awards), but they typically view unrealized gains as something to be taxed when they are realized (ie. converted to currency). What's really beneficial with inheritance is the step-up basis. When assets get inherited, the cost basis is reset to the market value at the time of the transfer, which means taxes are never paid on any gains made between acquiring the asset and the death of the owner. So even if the inheritor sells them at a later date, they still pay substantially less in taxes than they would normally pay.