Business Entities : A Business Entity

A corporation is a separate legal entity that possesses distinctive liabilities and privileges than that of their members or shareholders. As an investor, a corporation’s advantage is liability for their own investments especially in risky investments (Kubasek, et al., 2012, p. 760). Among the various types of corporations for Betty to select from, an S corporation is an enticing venture for new entrepreneurs given that it grants limited personal liability for debts, sharing of corporate profits, and taxation relief. Double taxation is a main disadvantage of C corporations but not for S corporations. The General Corporation Law (Corp C §§100-2319) treats S corporations similarly to partnerships for taxation purposes.

The business entities of corporations and partnerships share many similarities, however key difference exist, primarily in terms of formation, taxes and liability. This section will largely address the issue of liability, in terms of the effects of damages, disclosure requirements and personal liability for both corporations and partnerships. Additionally Amazon will be examined as a partnership rather than a corporation to further illustrate these differences.

There are three types of business entities: sole proprietorship, partnerships, and corporations. Sole proprietorships are businesses owned by an individual person. They are easy to form, but are not taxed. Instead the individual business owner is taxed on any monies acquired on behalf of the business (Kubasek, 2012. Partnerships are businesses that are owned by more than one individual owners. The big thing about partnerships is that each partner is personally responsible for the acts of the other partners in the business . (Kubasek, 2012 Corporations are businesses owned by multiple people to include shareholders (Kubasek, 2012). They can sue and be sued and are subject to a host of rules and regulations set forth by the government.

Forming a business entity requires a great deal of knowledge before any decision is made. There are advantages and disadvantages to each entity and without proper understanding of what they are, individuals could make costly errors and forfeit crucial perks that would be in the businesses best interest. In the situation in New State, Alex, Bill, Carl, and Devon have inherited their father’s operating organic farm and seek advice, in regards to which form of business organization would best fit their particular criteria. They have emphasized their immediate concerns, wants and needs from a business standpoint, but also stress their strong faith to uphold and operate in accordance with the Christian worldview. Their criteria is as follows, (1) create an entity which averts formalities or complexities, (2) develop a structure allowing cousin Xavier to handle the day-to-day, (3) minimize taxes on the entity, (4) avoid any personal liability, (4) keep business in the family only, (5) remain in accordance with the Christian worldview, (which will be the final topic in this discussion). After reviewing all criteria, it will be advised that forming a limited liability company (LLC) and electing for an S corporation status would be of best interest for the family. Discussed below, is the strengths and weaknesses of each form of business organization as it applies to their unique situation, to help better understand why an LLC/S corporation, is the best form of

C corporations are able to have unlimited shareholders, which is probably an important characteristic to large companies. (S corporations, for example, may not have more than 100 shareholders.) C corporations can also be owned by non-citizens or other business entities, where S corporations can only be owned by individuals who are US citizens.

In case of breach of contract liability shall be limited or unlimited depending on the type of activity. There are five types of business organizations in the United States. These forms are sole proprietorship, a partnership, limited liability company, partnership, and limited liability company. Each of these formations business has advantages and disadvantages for the employer. There are different levels attributed to the owners and partners in each of these forms of business organization responsibility. As for the different levels of responsibility that owners and partners can help in selecting the appropriate form

• S- CORPORATION: S- Corporation created by law. S-Corporations taxed differently than C- Corporations. S- Corporations are not taxed on earnings. The stockholders claim on their taxes the losses or profits.

INCOME TAXES- S-corp differs from C-corp taxation; taxes are passed through to the shareholders only. The company itself does not pay taxes.

A limited liability company consists of a single owner, or sometimes more than one owner, and are not taxed as separate business entities. All profits and losses pass through the business to those who own the company. Owners must report profits and losses on their personal tax return filing as a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. If the LLC is ran by a single owner, they file a 1040 Schedule C form as a sole proprietor. Partners file a 1065 form consisting of a partnership, and a form 1120 is filed if the LLC is filing as a corporation. The LLC must be registered such as the State Corporation Commission, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, or the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code. The great thing about an LLC is that the owner has freedom in management. The owner is able to run the organization as they see fit not answering to anyone,

| If all members of a new foreign entity have limited liability, the entity is classified as an association taxed as a corporation.

Liability: Ownership of a C-Corporation is vested in its stockholders, whose liability is limited to the amount of their investment. The Corporation is liable for all of its debts, and for the actions of employees acting as agents of the organization. Creditors may lay claim against corporate assets, but cannot reach stockholders’ personal assets. Additionally, stockholders have no claim against corporate assets.

Federal tax rates on corporate taxable income vary from 15% to 35%. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction, though many are based on Federal concepts and definitions. Taxable income may differ from book income both as to timing of income and tax deductions and as to what is taxable. Corporations are also subject to a Federal Alternative Minimum Tax and alternative state taxes. Like individuals, corporations must file tax returns every year. They must make quarterly estimated tax payments. Controlled groups of corporations may file a consolidated return. Partnerships have flow-through taxation which means that the entity does not pay taxes on its income. Instead, the owners of the entity pay tax on their "distributive share" of the entity's taxable income, even if no funds are distributed by the partnership to the owners. Estates and nongrantor trusts must file income tax returns just as individuals do, but with some important differences. For one, their income is taxed at either the entity or beneficiary level depending on whether it is allocated to principal or allocated to distributable income, and whether it is distributed to the beneficiaries. And because their exemption amounts, tax brackets and related thresholds haven’t been indexed for inflation or modified for tax relief to the extent those for individuals have, they can be

1) The S corporation rules were enacted to allow small corporations to enjoy the nontax advantages of the corporate form of business without being subject to the tax disadvantage of double taxation.

4. Benefits of choosing to be S Corporation. According to Sec. 1361 and Reg.Sec. 1.1361-1, if Paula and Mary both consent to the special election made by the corporation, the corporation could be a S corporation so that in the first two years, Paula and Mary could use the loss to offset their income from other sources. If necessary, they could revoke the decision, turning the corporation back into C Corporation.

Due to the fact that corporations are separate legal entities from their owners, C-corporations are taxed separately requiring the filing of IRS Form 1120 each year to report its income and take advantage of any credits or deductions for which the corporation may be eligible (Internal revenue Service (IRS), 2012b). Income tax rates for corporation are tailored to corporations and as such are different from those