How do governments assess private companies for estate tax considering they are not bought and sold and thus the shares to not have a price?

Question

Based on an discussion i had with friends, if its a large private company, but one which is not valued by the market how does the government assess it for inheritance tax purposes? cant i just sell/assess the shares for 100 dollars total even if its worth 100 million?

In: Economics

Answer 1

In the US, if it is a large private company then it is probably held in trusts so no estate taxes are owed.

Otherwise there are formulas based on assets and profitability and those are used.