Corporate taxes- what is a sensible and fair approach

The question of how much to tax corporate profits is a source of eternal political debate where the opposing sides talk past each other without effectively addressing the other sides legitimate points, or attempting to link their position to historical or economic data.

Inevitably the debate is limited to whether the taxes will cause corporations to hire fewer people, or move elsewhere.  I think that the debate ought to address some much more fundamental questions that go beyond speculative guesses about how the tax rate will affect corporations and the economy.

First, I think it is a mistake to treat all corporations the same.  It is rather like trying to make a size 6 shoe fit everyone in the world.  We could create categories of taxation that look at two factors:

1.  How much does the corporation benefit from government spending?

2.  To what extent do the corporations activities imposed costs on society?

Some corporations unquestionably provide necessary and beneficial services to society.  Medical corporations for example, or farmers.  Other corporations engage in activities that dump major costs on society. Corporations that manufacture alcohol, or tobacco, or make their money off of gambling encourage activities that cause social disruption and mental and physical health problems.   Strip mining or other industrial activities often create major environmental problems.

Other corporations are pretty neutral, they don't provide a necessity but they also don't engage in activities that that dump major costs on society.

Seems to me the logical way to tax corporations is by creating catagories.  Low taxes on activities that are necessities and don't impose costs on socieity, moderate taxes on nuetral corporations, and high taxes on corporations that engage in activities that impose costs on society.