>> If anything, taxing corporations is regressive -- the taxes ultimately get passed on to consumers through higher product prices

Tax on corporate profit does not need to have this effect, because it only applies to profits, not to revenue.

Sure, if a corporation wants to keep the same amount of profit after a tax hike it has to put its prices up. But because we're only taxing what's happening after deduction of costs, there's room for others to come in and compete with a lower margin (and lower taxes as a result).

It encourages firms to reinvest, to hire more people and to find other productive ways to use the money rather than either sitting on it or passing it directly to shareholders.