A lot of the tax code does not hold up to scrutiny. This is why the talk of re-doing the entire tax code is often discussed but not really grappled.

It is not grappled because it takes a lot of will power and political currency to undertake such a massive change. It would change society drastically and some would resist such a change.

Estate taxes and property taxes are a big wealth transfer to the state that suppress the ability of families to build generational wealth.

Those with existing massive generational wealth are not impacted by estate taxes and property taxes as much because they can hire an army of attorneys and lawyers to circumvent this all.