If there was regulatory capture it surely couldn't have been provided by them given they didn't exist yet. They were doing exactly what the tax system was designed to do - promote investment no trickery involved.

One can legitimately argue that the system sucked or could have been done better but it is not exploitation in the sense of a glitch any more than handling moving by selling your furniture, mailing your small items, and then buying new stuff insread of renting a van since depreciation losses would be less than moving expenses.

Catalog precedent was what they used for taxes and even a large company using it to sell everything enmasse wasn't new either - Sears Catalog.