1. Chapter 4.3 Choose the legal form of your Business
Mrs. Leonard
Entrepreneurship

2. Types of Business Arrangements
There are three main types of ownership arrangements from which to choose:
Sole Proprietorship – business that is owned by one person
Partnership – business owned by two or more people
Corporation – business with the legal rights of a person and which may be owned by many people
S – Corporation – corporation organized under subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code whose income is taxed as a partnership

3. Sole Proprietorship
Enable one person to be in control of all business aspects
Most common type of ownership
May be small businesses with just a few employees, or they may be large businesses with hundreds of employees
Government exercises very little control over sole proprietorships
So more will be established and run simply
Accurate tax record and certain employment laws must be met

4. Disadvantages of a Sole Proprietorship
Difficult to raise money for the sole proprietorship
You are the only one contributing money
Face a risk that owners of partnerships or corporations do not
If a sole proprietorship fails and debts remain, the entrepreneurs private assets may be taken to pay what is owed

5. Partnership
In partnerships, entrepreneurs have someone with whom to share decision-making and management responsibilities
In a partnership one entrepreneur will not have to come up with all of the capital alone
If any losses the business incurs will be shared by all of the partners
Little government regulation

6. Disadvantages of a Partnership
Entrepreneurs may not like sharing responsibilities and profits
All partners are liable for errors of the partners
Can lead to disagreements and end bitterly

7. Partnership Agreement
When two or more entrepreneurs go into business together, they generally sign a partnership agreement
Purpose of the partnership agreement is to set down in writing the rights and responsibilities of each of the owners

8. Partnership Identifies
Name of the business or partnership
Names of the partners
Type and value of the investment each partner contributes
Managerial responsibilities to be handled by each partner
Accounting methods to be used
Rights of each partner to review and/or audit accounting documents
Division of profits and losses among partners
Salaries to be withdrawn by the partners
Duration of the partnership
Conditions under which the partnership can be dissolved
Distribution of assets upon dissolution of the partnership
Procedure for dealing with the death of a partner

9. Corporation A corporation is treated independently of its owners
Since a corporation has the legal rights of a person, the corporation, not the owners, pay taxes, enters into contracts, and may be held liable for negligence
Ownership of a corporation is in the form of shares of stock
Share of stock – a unit of ownership in a corporation
People who own stock in the corporation are called shareholders or stockholders
The individual or group that owns the most shares maintains control of the company

10. Corporation
Board of Directors – every corporation has a group of people who meet several times a year to make important decisions affecting the company
Responsible for electing the corporation’s senior officers, determining their salaries, and setting the corporations' rules for conduction business
Decides how much the corporation should pay in dividends
Dividends – distributions of profits to shareholders by corporations
Company’s officers, not the board of directors, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the corporation

11. Disadvantages of a Corporation
Complicated
Costly to establish
Incorporate – means to set up a business as a corporation
Will need assistance of a lawyer, who will help you file articles of incorporation with the state official responsible for chartering, or registering, corporations
Articles of incorporation must be written that fully detail the purpose of the business
If not written well, the corporations activities can be limited

12. Disadvantages of a Corporation
Corporations are subject to much more government regulation than sole proprietorships or partnerships
Much more paperwork
Double Taxation
Corporation pays taxes on its income, and shareholders pay taxes on the dividends they receive from the corporation
Corporations profits are taxed as corporate income and again as individual income

13. Why Incorporate? Liability – amount owed to others
Shareholders liability is limited to the amount of money each shareholder invested in the company when he or she purchased stock
Incorporations allows businesses to raise money by selling stock
Lenders are also more willing to lend money to corporations than to sole proprietorships or partnerships
Since shareholders do not affect the management of a corporation, the main shareholder of the company can change through the buying and selling of stock without disrupting the day-to-day business

14. S Corporation
S corporation – corporation organized under subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code whose income is taxed as a partnership
Unlike regular corporations, an S corporation is not taxed as a business
Individual shareholders are taxed on the profits they earn
Many companies establish themselves as S corporations because they lose money in the early years
Any losses suffered by S corporations can be used to offset other sources of taxable income

15. 4.3 Assessment
Advantages
Disadvantages
Corporation
Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
On your Chapter 4 assessment page, create a table of advantages and disadvantages of the three legal forms of ownership
Think Critically (page 97) #1-3. Type the question and answer in bold.
4.3 T/F and MC worksheet