Also, make no mistake, I'm not trying to apologize for people who are already extremely wealthy, who have to deal with this problem. I would love to have the problem of what to do with a company big enough to need to sell it upon my death. I'm merely trying to point out, that estate taxes do have a consolidating effect that feeds mega corporations. What I don't know is if this effect is as big as I suspect it is, or if it's simply dwarfed by other factors, like the general desire to sell out for a big payday.
I'm sorry, but this is just the same talking point reframed.
If you have a business that is large enough to be subject to estate taxes, you should have enough time and resources to talk to an estate attorney and learn how to move the assets into an appropriate corporate governance structure such that it is no longer a real issue.
Your understanding is a talking point created by the Republican party and has no real basis in reality.
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/09/death-tax-talking-point-wo... https://www.cbpp.org/blog/the-myth-that-the-estate-tax-threa... https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/10/news/economy/farmers-estate... https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec... https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/04/09/debunking-the-my...
I will also point out that estates benefit from step-up basis which avoids Capital Gains taxes on unrealized gains, which is hugely beneficial to most estates. This way of taxing is meant as a compromise to allow fairly large estates to pass tax exempt --currently up to $11MM if held by a single person, $22MM for a married couple-- while applying taxes to estates that all but guarantee that you could retire instantly collecting an income that puts you in the top 1% of household earnings in the US with highly favorable capital gains tax treatment. Also, the IRS will work with anyone that has a large illiquid estate and allow taxes to be paid over a decade after an initial grace period, with an appropriate interest rate.