Tax avoidance has become an art form. Companies have minimized dividends so wealth can compound without being taxed, but that has negative economic effects as they accumulate effectively pointless cash hordes. Further, several things like inheritance let you change the tax basis. Selling stock and donating the proceeds is worse for you than donating the stock directly etc.

In other words tax income and the game is to hide income, tax wealth and you increase economic efficiency. Wealth taxes only erode wealth if you fail to make positive returns.