> But if you're happy entering and exiting the business as a whole, it makes sense to sell it (transferring money equal to its value to your personal balance sheet) when taxes are low and about to go up, and then just not work while taxes are high.

Not quite. The fact that taxes are about to go up has already taken a huge chunk out of the sale value of the business. You want to sell it when taxes are low and not about to go up.