> I suppose ideologically a wealth tax presupposes that all wealth is bad, whereas an inheritance tax just targets unearned wealth.
I don't agree with that framing, but even so if you look at the debate about income inequality today, you'll see people have issues even with earned wealth, in astronomical amounts (eg Bezos, Gates, Koch brothers, etc).
"The Koch brothers are the sons of Fred C. Koch, who founded Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in the United States" wikipedia
"His [Bill Gates] father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. Gates' maternal grandfather was J.W. Maxwell, a
national bank president."
Also wikipedia.
So these aren't exactly people who worked their way up from the gutter.
But yes some people probably do have problems with earned income, I still think the distinction is worth it though.
I don't agree with that framing, but even so if you look at the debate about income inequality today, you'll see people have issues even with earned wealth, in astronomical amounts (eg Bezos, Gates, Koch brothers, etc).