A tax on capital transfers from one person to another by gift or bequest. Governments have two motives for using a capital transfer tax rather than a wealth tax if they want to tax capital. First, it is argued that a CTT is less discouraging to saving than a wealth tax. A CTT is less likely than a wealth tax to be resented, and thus avoided or evaded by taxpayers. Second, a wealth tax involves the regular identification and valuation of assets. In contrast, when capital is transferred, particularly by inheritance, the legal procedures involved make it easier to identify assets, which have to be valued in any case for probate purposes.