What Are The Corporations

The Corporation is the most dominant form of business organization in our society. A Corporation is a legally chartered enterprise with most legal rights of a person including the right to conduct business, own, sell and transfer property, make contracts, borrow money, sue and be sued, and pay taxes. Since the Corporation exists as a separate entity apart from an individual, it is legally responsible for its actions and debts.

The modern Corporation evolved in the beginning of this century when large sums of money were required to build railroads and steel mills and the like and no one individual or partnership could hope to raise. The solution was to sell shares to numerous investors (shareholders) who in turn would get a cut of the profits in exchange for their money. To protect these investors associated with such large undertakings, their liability was limited to the amount of their investment.

Since this seemed to be such a good solution, Corporations became a vibrant part of our nation’s economy. As rules and regulations evolved as to what a Corporation could or could not do, Corporations acquired most of the legal rights as those of people in that it could receive, own sell and transfer property, make contracts, borrow money, sue and be sued and pay taxes.

The strength of a Corporation is that its ownership and management are separate. In theory, the owners may get rid of the Managers if they vote to do so. Conversely, because the shares of the company known as stock can sold to someone else, the Company’s ownership can change drastically, while the management stays the same. The Corporation’s unlimited life span coupled with its ability to raise money gives it the potential for significant growth.

A Company does not have to be large to incorporate. In fact, most corporations, like most businesses, are relatively small, and most small corporations are privately held.

Some of the disadvantages of Corporations are that incorporated businesses suffer from higher taxes than unincorporated businesses. In addition, shareholders must pay income tax on their share of the Company’s profit that they receive as dividends. This means that corporate profits are taxed twice.

There are several different types of Corporation based on various distinctions, the first of which is to determine if it is a public, quasi-public or Private Corporation. Federal or state governments form Public Corporations for a specific public purpose such as making student loans, building dams, running local school districts etc. Quasi-public Corporations are public utilities, local phones, water, and natural gas. Private Corporations are companies owned by individuals or other companies and their investors buy stock in the open market. This gives private corporations access to large amounts of capital.

Public and private corporations can be for-profit or non-profit corporations. For-profit corporations are formed to earn money for their owners. Non-profit Corporations have other goals such as those targeted by charitable, educational, or fraternal organizations. No stockholder shares in the profits or losses and they are exempt from corporate income taxes.

Professional Corporations are set up by businesses whose shareholders offer professional services (legal, medical, engineering, etc.) and can set up beneficial pension and insurance packages.
Limited Liability Companies (LLCs as they are called) combine the advantages of S Corporations and limited partnerships, without having to abide by the restrictions of either. LLCs allow companies to pay taxes like partnerships and have the advantage of protection from liabilities beyond their investments. Moreover, LLCs can have over 35 investors or shareholders (with a minimum of 2 shareholders). Participation in management is not restricted, but its life span is limited to 30 years.