Corporations are the biggest business organization forms in the United States. A Corporation is a “fictitious legal entity that is created according to statutory requirements”. Corporations generate more that 85 percent of the country’s gross business receipt and can range in size from one to hundreds of owners (478, Cheeseman). Shareholders are owners of their corporation and have a say in the business matters. There are three types of corporations. A domestic corporation is a corporation that is in the state in which it is incorporated. When a corporation is in another state or jurisdiction outside of where it was incorporated it is a foreign corporation. An alien corporation is when the corporation was incorporated in another country.
-A corporation is an organizational form that is a legal entity that declares the business as separate and distinct from its owners. It is directed by the board of directors who act as a single entity.
Also be obliged to pay taxes and dealt with civil and little acts of criminal penalties perform through agents. “The corporation is governed primarily by the statutory guidelines of the state statute that provides for its creation. The requirements for the creation and management of a corporation vary somewhat between the states, but as is usually the case, there are common threads that can be found in the corporate statutes of all states.” (Rogers,
The ideas that corporations are viewed as people in the eyes of the law seems like a farfetched idea. However, with closer examination one cannot help but wonder if this is truly becoming the case. Since the 1950’s the rights of corporations have been expanding through multiple court cases that have charted the way for more recent cases like Citizens United v. FEC and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores . To better understand the notion that corporations are sometimes viewed as people it is important to understand the definition of a corporation. In the dictionary, a corporation is defined as a number of persons united in one body for a purpose . Even though it is hard for many to view a corporation as a “person”, it is undeniable that corporations
The last business option that will be discussed is the Corporation. A Corporation is “a fictitious legal entity that is created according to statutory requirements” (Cheeseman 478). The biggest advantage of a corporation is the protection of personal assets. Shareholders, directors and officers are typically not liable for the company’s debts and obligations. This is limited to the amount of money they have invested into the corporation. Since the corporation is separate from the owners, transfer of ownership is an easy task. Also corporations are generally taxed at a lower rate than individuals in the United States. A corporation is not as simple to form or maintain as other business formations. Articles of incorporation must be filed with the secretary of state and an organizational meeting must be held to elect a board of directors. A corporation also requires, at the least, an annual report so that creditors that do business with the corporation can determine the creditworthiness of the corporation. Also the corporation is taxed on its profits
“Corporations are said to be “creatures of statute;” they exist because state laws allow human beings to organize themselves into entities that separate ownership and management functions as the outline above delineates. The business rule is there a presumption that making a business decision, the offices act in good faith with the belief that their actions is what is best for the company (Halbert/Ingulli, 2012 pg. 31).”
A corporation is considered a citizen of both; the state of its incorporation and the
The corporation structure has multiple owners and operators and is complex and expensive. A corporation is an independent legal entity owned by shareholders. The corporation itself is legally liable for the actions and debts of the business. The advantages of a corporation structure are limited liability, ability to generate capital, corporate tax treatment, and attractiveness to potential employees. The disadvantages are time and money, double taxing, time, and paperwork. Corporations pay income tax on their profits. In some cases, corporations are taxed twice – first, when the company makes a profit, and again when the dividends are paid to shareholders on their personal tax returns (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2013).
Ever since the outset of the industrial revolution, corporations have been an inherent constituent in American society. However, due to this heavy influence, corporations have ever since created a struggle with individuals for social, political, and economic power. At present, this issue is only being addressed at the economic level. Presidential candidates such as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are putting a considerable amount of attention towards corporate taxes but are neglecting the legal aspects of corporate personhood. The main issue besetting the United States as a whole, is legal reform among corporations because it is affecting the political values, freedoms, and security of the American people.
Since the beginning of time, mankind has always had some form of trade. It started off as bartering and trade of general goods and slowly progressed over time. Different forms of specialized trade arose over time such as the trade of salt within Africa among Trans-Saharan trade routes and the large fur-trade market in northern Missouri that flourished throughout the span of the seventeenth century. Today within the United States there is a market economy that has thrived as a successful form of free trade in which the producers and the consumers of various products determine how the market will progress. All of this has lead to the modern day business structures which are utilized by all producers in order to obtain a successful and
A corporation is a legal entity designed to shield its owners from liability claims brought against it, as long as they maintain a separation from the entity (Legal-Dictionary.com, 2015). The co-mingling of Drizins’ personal funds into
Gerald F. Davis author of The Vanishing American Corporation defines a corporation is a “group of people trying to do business together” (Davis 7). Corporations are easy to create and destroy. In a review of chapter one Corporations around the world on page fourteen cover The Corporation in America. According to the chapter, if shares what was good for General Motors (GM) is what is good for the country, and vice versa meant the health of the economy largest corporations are tied. According to Davis “after WW II, the most major corporations were the economy” (Davis 14).
A corporation was originally designed to allow for the forming of a group to get a single project done, after which it would be disbanded. At the end of the Civil War, the 14th amendment was passed in order to protect the rights of former slaves. At this point, corporate lawyers worked to define a corporation as a “person,” granting them the right to life, liberty and property. Ever since this distinction was made, corporations have become bigger and bigger, controlling many aspects of the economy and the lives of Americans. Corporations are not good for America because they outsource jobs, they lie and deceive, and they knowingly make and sell products that can harm people and animals, all in order to raise profits.
The Corporate personhood, a universal legal model, grants corporations genuine rights and responsibilities similar to those of individual citizens. This concept proved useful in American jurisprudence in that it simplified one’s interactions with huge conglomerates. Citing the Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution, the term corporate personhood served to consider corporations similar to individuals. In that vane, corporate entities like individuals could join contracts as a single unit, corporate entities like individuals could be named in civil lawsuits as a single group and corporate entities like individuals could make decisions that would hold the enterprise responsible as a single entity even though the decisions were
A Corporation can be defined as a legal creation, however the corporation itself, would only exist on a piece of paper. A corporation will never die a natural death like humans die naturally, and corporations will always outlive the individual who created it. With that said, the corporation itself is never really committed to any employee or committed to any neighbor. However, a corporation can always demand employees, a corporation can always demand taxes that are extremely high, and a corporation can also restrict environmental laws. Corporations hold a great deal of power in today's society.
In order for an informed decision to be made in regards to appropriate business structure for any business it is necessary to understand each business structure separately and any attempt to understand business structure must consider the C-corporation as a baseline against which to compare subsequent business structures. A C-corporation is a business organized as a separate entity from the owner or owners of the business that requires the observation of certain formalities. In Texas these formalities include adopting bylaws, maintaining a record of accounts, issuance of stock, recording the issuance and transference of stock, recording minutes of board of director and shareholder meetings, as well as maintaining a record of current and past shareholders (Tex. BOC § 21). It is important to remember that corporate formalities will require time and expense to maintain and every attempt should be made to comply with these requirements to protect the liability limitation of the corporation’s shareholders, officers, and owners.