I don’t have strong views on marriage other than my quirky libertarian view that government should not be involved.

But today’s column is going to applaud the upcoming nuptials of Ricky Gervais and Jane Fallon, a long-time couple residing in the United Kingdom.

Now let’s raise a seemingly unrelated topic.

As you can see from the Tax Foundation’s map, the U.K. is one of the European nations (in yellow) that make the mistake of imposing a death tax.

What does that have to do with the Gervais-Fallon marriage?

It’s actually the reason they’re getting hitched.

Here are some excerpts from a report by Madeleine Ross in the U.K.-based Telegaph.

Ricky Gervais, the comedian, has vowed to finally marry his partner of 44 years to reduce his inheritance tax bill. The 65-year-old has been in a relationship with Jane Fallon, a novelist, since 1982, but had previously said there was no reason to marry… But the prospect of a large inheritance tax bill appears to have changed his mind. …“It [inheritance tax] is hor­rible, isn’t it? I’ve got to get around to mar­ry­ing before I die.” …spouses can leave their assets to each other without attracting any inheritance tax bill. In the case of Mr Gervais, this could include a £15m seven-bedroom home in Hampstead, North London, which features a cinema, bar, gym, steam room, sauna and a wine cellar, along with a planned mansion in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and an apartment in New York.

Some of my left-leaning friends will say that Gervais is rich and they think this somehow justifies an economically destructive form of double taxation.

I obviously disagree, as I wrote in 2009, 2013, and 2017 (and we’ve actually moved in the right direction).

Interestingly, the story in the Telegraph notes that it’s not just the top-1 percent getting hit by this unfair levy.

The number of grieving families paying inheritance tax has been rising steadily over recent years. By 2031, close to 10pc of estates are expected to pay the levy. This is in part because inheritance tax thresholds have been frozen for years, meaning that rising house prices and other asset growth has pulled more estates into the net. At the last Budget, Rachel Reeves, then chancellor, extended the freeze for an extra year to raise a record £14.5bn. Her decision will mean the number of estates liable for inheritance tax will rise to 63,100 in 2029-30 – almost double the 32,200 families forecast to have paid last year.

I’ll close with some final comments about the absurdity of death taxes.

Starting with the fact that if the royal family is exempt, everyone should be exempt.

Gervais and Fallon could emigrate, of course, and I imagine that would be an easy choice if Ms. Wilkinson’s crazy proposal moves forward.

P.S. People understandably don’t like working hard and investing carefully, only to then get much of their money seized by greedy politicians. So it’s understandable that they will do whatever they can to avoid this unfair tax.

• Straight men will marry each other
• Gay men will adopt their lovers.
• Women will adopt their mother’s identity.
• People will live longer to escape the tax.
• People will die earlier to escape the tax.

P.P.S. Since Switzerland is on the above map, I feel compelled to come to that sensible nation‘s defense. There is no national death tax in Switzerland (indeed, a recent proposal to impose one was overwhelmingly defeated in a recent referendum). Moreover, only a small handful of cantons impose death taxes on bequests to kids, and none impose taxes on bequests to spouses. And a couple don’t impose any death tax.