>>>You have certainly made or plan to make a family trust to minimize estate taxes and pass your estate to your heirs or worthy charities.
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>Presumably, but that's legal. FWIW, other countries did away with estate duties and gift duties and people still form trusts, because there are other good reasons.
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>Also, FWIW the Australians have a stamp duty when you buy property. Up to about 5%. Very little protest about stamp duty- because it's difficult to mooch out of and is built into the price of property. Also it reduces annual property taxes because you've paid a big lump up front, meaning it advantages those who hold onto their property rather than buying and selling constantly.

What you're calling a "stamp duty when you buy property" probably most directly corresponds to what we call transfer tax. Not surprisingly, that's a state level, rather than federal, thing. In PA, it's 2%, normally paid 1% by the buyer and 1% by the seller.

Tamar