Getting the wealthy to depart with their money works if it's voluntary, and the impetus comes from the culture they want to be a part of. When it doesn't work, it's when other people try to force them to do it. Also, if you look at cultures where heavy progressive taxation works, you'll find there is already a communal thread of culture on which it's based.

Schemes to tax the rich and powerful only succeed with the participation of the rich and powerful. That is what you are also saying, but your view is distorted because you are othering "the rich."