This may be a utopian idea, but it's in line with the IMF paper: an inequality-reducing measure that could boost growth, if only by improving governance and reducing corruption.
The IMF researchers suggested other win-win transfers: "Examples could include taxes on activities with negative externalities paid mostly by the better-off but harmful to the poor (such as, perhaps, excessive risk-taking in the financial sector), cash transfers aimed at encouraging better attendance at primary schools in developing countries, or spending on public capital or education that benefits the poor."
As economists get their hands on more data for cross- country comparisons, this kind of logic passes from the realm of socialist heresy to that of mainstream economics. In the end, even the wealthy individuals asked to contribute may benefit from the additional growth generated by a bit of well-considered redistribution.
(Leonid Bershidsky writes on Russia, Europe and technology for Bloomberg View. Follow him on Twitter at @Bershidsky.)