[speekinout]

at some point, someone is going to fund a real challange to the capital gains tax; on behalf of a real taxpayer who has an asset that is clearly worth less than it was worth in 1916 but which has a greatly inflated price as a result of inflation.

It wouldn't be hard to find such a case - there are a number of qualifying cases in real estate, many dating from the '40s or '50s. The problem is finding the funding for the legal challenge.
I suppose it's fodder for a class action suit, as repellent as I find those to be.

[David]

"I suppose it's fodder for a class action suit, as repellent as I find those to be."

No.

Can't have a refund suit as a class action. No jurisdiction.