And if the money that you earned consists of unrealized capital gains of an asset, you would - in most cases - owe taxes on that money when you sold the asset. That you dropped dead prior to selling does not erase that requirement. Your heirs would owe the taxes if THEY sold that same asset.
In a large estate, tracking the original value of myriad assets to determine what taxes were owed was cumbersome at best so THOSE WEALTHY FAMILIES supported a transition to a flat tax coupled with a step-up in basis that delivered those assets to their heirs at their current value.
Now those same wealthy families are back at the table telling you they shouldn’t owe any taxes
