This was a point readily appreciated by both Churchill in his 1925 budget and William Harcourt, who introduced estate duty in 1894.

ECONOMIST: How to improve an unpopular tax

In Britain, house buyers and sellers pay only 4-5% of the house price in stamp duty and estate agents' and lawyers' fees, but the emotional cost can be huge.

ECONOMIST: The housing market has not heard of globalisation

In France, Italy, Spain and Belgium the cost of selling one house and buying another (estate-agent fees, stamp duty and legal fees) often amounts to more than 15% of the price of a home.

ECONOMIST: When home is a prison

We manage investments using the Endowment Model pioneered by Yale University, manage an oil and gas program, and do some heavy-duty domestic and international tax and estate planning for families.

FORBES: Todd Ganos - In The Money - Archive

On the real-estate front, meanwhile, lawmakers have tried to deal with sky-high prices by introducing a 15 percent stamp duty on foreign purchases of private residential homes.

WSJ: Wealth Over the Edge | WSJ.Money Spring 2013