Modern businesses operate in a much more complex environment than existed with earlier for-profit organizations. One of those complexities is created by the legal issues surrounding all aspects of operating in today’s world. These legal concerns are often significant, and are a major reason individuals who wish to establish and grow a business must focus on the form of their business organization.
Balancing Different Requirements and Objectives
Whether operating as a one-person bedroom firm or a multi-national business with thousands of employees, there are a host of common issues, concerns and liabilities to consider. For that very large organization, it is virtually a necessity to operate as a legally chartered corporation of some sort.
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Sorting Out the Options
Generally speaking, the sole proprietorship is the simplest and least expensive form of business structure. However, it provides no protection of the owner’s personal assets from claims, litigation and financial judgments.
On the other hand, a properly chartered and maintained corporation will in most cases protect owners and shareholders against any such actions or liabilities lodged against a business. A more detailed discussion of these various options follows.
Sole Proprietorship
If an owner of a business takes no specific legal action to separate the operations under another entity, they operate by default as a sole proprietorship. This structure has a minimum of forms to file and track, and the profits and losses generated are not separated from the personal income of the owner.
While this form of operation provides no special legal protections for the owners, it does not preclude the development of a separate business identity. Most small businesses will file a “doing business as” form with the local government. This dba allows the use of a business name as an alter ego in the marketplace.
Federal income tax reporting allows the owner of a sole proprietorship to include their earnings or losses with the addition of several forms. In most cases, owners are also liable for filing and paying a self-employment tax. Several special tax-advantaged retirement
| In a sole proprietorship, the business and single owner are one in the same. A single owner makes all decisions with regard to the business and the single owner retains all profits earned by the business. The single owner is also responsible/liable for all debts and obligations of the business on a personal level.
Betty Wilson’s venture of opening a Christian Coffee House in Belmont, NC, presents her with abundant opportunities in selecting a business form. She is considering the following types of entities: 1) franchise, 2) sole proprietorship, 3) partnership of some sort, 4) corporation of some sort, 5) LLC, or 6) even as a joint venture. We will briefly explore each business option and give Betty concise recommendations as to what business form to pursue as well as what business partners to engage.
Sole proprietorships are the most common type of business in the U.S. They are most commonly chosen because they are the easiest type of business to set up and give the sole owner of the company complete control of the company. There are many benefits to a sole proprietorship in regards to control, profit retention, and convenience.
When you form a C corporation, you protect your personal assets. Anyone who sues your company can't go after you personally. You also can buy and sell stock. A corporation survives you, which means you can pass it on to your heirs. To form a C corporation, you must follow specific guidelines. If you file the correct papers, both the Internal Revenue Service and your state will recognize your company as a C corporation.
Sole Proprietorship Sole proprietorship is the most common form of business in the United States. It is a relatively simple way for an individual to start a business since legal costs and business requirements are minimal, and the owner has complete control over the business. Though a sole proprietor is not responsible for any corporate tax payments, the owner is responsible for taxes incurred on the income generated from the business as part of his or her personal income tax payments, and personally shoulders any other risks or obligations. A sole proprietor may also choose to file their business under a fictitious business name or a DBA (doing business as), allowing him or her to operate and market the business under a more typical
Income taxes- All income generated through a sole proprietorship is taxed by the Internal Revenue Service. This is reported on the owner's personal tax return.
A sole proprietorship is a form of business that is owned by a single individual. • Liability – Due to the lack of legal distinction between the owner and the business, the owner is fully responsible and liable for all debts that the business incurs in the same manner that an individual is fully responsible and liable for all debts that they incur. There is no legal distinction between the assets of the owner of the sole proprietorship and the business; this means that creditors have the ability to come after the owner’s business and personal material assets. Income Taxes – Since the business is the same as the owner of the sole proprietorship, all profits or losses from the business are filed by the
INCOME TAXES – As a sole proprietor all business income or losses must be reported as personal income tax. The business itself is not taxed separately.
Income Taxes: The owner of a Sole Proprietorship pays taxes in the earnings of the company as personal income.
After the creation of a business plan, the next step to operating a business is the selection of an appropriate business structure. Different legal forms of business ownerships affect different managerial and financial factors from the business names to the tax obligations (Gregory, n.d.). The most common forms are sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperatives, and corporations. There are different types of corporations in the business world, but the two most general corporation types are S Corporation and Limited Liability Company (LLC) (Ferrell et al., 2013). The sole proprietorship is the easiest and most basic form of business ownership. It is owned and run by one individual, which is the proprietor. The individual is entitled to all profits and is responsible for all the business’s
This memo is about providing to Smithson’s family a summarized and explanatory paper that will advise them regarding their will to create a business, which will be able to grow steadily and feasibly expand globally. Due to the nature of their invention, which is a revolutionary widget, this is a viable and feasible option that has to be taken seriously. Gloria
The advantages to the sole proprietorship are single control over the business and its decisions, easy to start up, less regulations and paperwork burden that the other types of business. The disadvantages are unlimited liability for their company debts and actions. The law does not recognize any distinctions between the owner’s business assets and personal assets. Banks are very skeptical about lending to these types business because there is only one person to hold liable for repaying the debt.
Is the most common business type, where the business is operated and owned by a single individual. In this type of business, the sole proprietor provides capital, does not share profit or loss and runs the business alone. As such, the business and the owner are indistinguishable for tax and legal purposes (Dlabay, 2011). To differentiate this business from other business types, a sole proprietorship is discussed under the following characteristics.
Corporations are a different type of business. They are more complex to start because more paperwork is involved and the corporation generally has to be registered at the state level. An ordinary corporation is formed through the articles of incorporation. These corporations are legal entities, and therefore bear legal responsibility. The shareholders of the corporation do not bear legal liability. In addition, corporate income is taxed differently it does not flow through to the owner's personal income tax statements. The
All you need is money and a realistic vision. 4) Another advantage of a sole proprietorship is that you pay lower taxes. This happens because as you own your own business, the earnings are considered as the owner’s personal income. Because of this, the sole proprietor may be subject to lower taxes than other forms of businesses, such as a partnership or corporation. 5) In addition to all the other advantages listed, another advantage of owning your own business is that you, the owner determines how much you want your firm or company to grow. You decide if you want to stay a small business or expand, whether it be locally or nationally. This can be advantageous because the owner can determine whether it’s better to stay small or grow. If you’re business is successful, you may want to expand to reach more and more clients, helping you make more money and to establish your firm as a successful one. Or you might think that it might be better to stay small and local, because you might not want to take a chance because you might not want to mess with a good thing. Whatever the situation, the owner decides what suites the company.