Not so sure about this claim. My mother owns a modest lake cabin that she paid $60,000 for 40 years ago. It's probably worth ~$400k now. She has thought of selling it, but doesn't like the idea of the capital gains hit - she'd rather pass away owning it and give us kids the stepped-up cost basis. If she could adjust her cost basis by adding inflation... that would be a game changer for her. Among other things, she'd purchase a $60k vehicle about which she has been hesitating.
Maybe this is just anecdotal and we need to rely on the experts to tell us how to think.
I believe you can take a one-time capital gains exemption.