理解不同类型的商业组织:概述

免责声明: 这篇博文中的信息仅供教育用途. This blog post is not intended as legal or tax advice and is not legal or tax advice. Readers should consult an attorney and a tax professional prior to the formation of any business entity and while any business entity is operating.

介绍

This blog post offers a brief overview of the major types of business organizations available to small businesses. The overview is not intended to be comprehensive and does not consider every type of business organization, 这篇文章也没有全面讨论所列出的组织类型. The author focuses on income tax considerations, 责任 issues, and ease of business succession. 请注意，每个州都有不同的规则和要求. 不同的州可能会产生不同的所得税后果. This blog post serves as merely a starting part in discussing different options for organizing your business.

个人独资

A sole proprietorship is someone who owns an unincorporated business by himself or herself. 开办独资企业不需要任何正式步骤, 这个人只是开始经营企业. 个人独资企业的所得按个人纳税. The sole proprietor is personally liable for all liabilities and debts of the business and all personal assets of the sole proprietor are subject to liabilities and debts of the business. 个人独资企业的权益不得转让给下一代, 虽然实物资产可以转移. 企业继承即使不是不可能，也是困难的. 美国12%的企业是独资企业.

伙伴关系

A partnership is the relationship between two or more people to do engage in a trade or business. 每个人都捐钱, 财产, 劳动或技能, 并分享企业的利润和亏损. 合伙企业不需要书面协议，甚至不需要口头协议. If the actions of the parties indicate that a partnership exists, the law implies the partnership. 在美国，只有2%的企业是合伙企业.

就所得税而言, the income or loss of the partnership “passes through” to the owners and is taxed at only the individual level. 例如, 如果A和B各占一半, 合伙企业的利润为100美元,今年是1000万, A显示50美元,在她的所得税申报表上，B显示的是50美元,他的所得税申报单上有1000英镑. 合伙企业不单独纳税.

A limited 责任 partnership is a type of general partnership where every partner has limited personal 责任 for the debts of the partnership. 合伙人对其他合伙人的过失或故意行为不承担责任, 但根据国家的规定，他们可能对合同债务负有责任.

公司

公司是一个独立于其所有者的法律实体. A corporation is formed under state rules and formally registered and has a separate taxpayer ID number. 公司的收入按公司制征税. 如果有任何收入分配给股东, 这笔收入在个人层面上再次征税, 造成“双重征税”.“然而, a benefit of the corporate form of ownership is that the shareholders are not liable for the liabilities and debts of the corporation IF the corporation follows corporate formalities. 公司手续包括一个单独的银行账户, no commingling of shareholder and corporate monies may not be commingled with personal monies, 董事会管理企业, 董事和会员定期召开会议，并有通知和会议记录. 公司必须遵守州法律和公司章程. 如果不遵守公司的手续, the court may “pierce the corporate veil” and hold shareholders personally liable for corporate responsibilities.

The typical corporation is referred to as a “C 公司” since it is organized under Subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code. 许多小企业都是由“S公司”组成的。, 参照《十博官网手机版官网下载》第五章. S 公司s are designed for small businesses, with limits on the number and size of shareholders. S公司寻求提供C公司的有限责任, 但是合伙企业的单一税率. 美国大约三分之一的企业是由S公司组成的, 大约19%是C类公司.

考虑到C公司的两种税收水平, C公司不得拥有不动产或其他增值资产. 如果增值资产被C公司出售, two levels of tax will be paid- one for the corporation and one for the individual when the gains are distributed. S公司避免了这个问题, 所以房地产可以由S公司持有, but care must be taken upon the death of a shareholder to ensure one level of taxation.

公司的业务继承相对容易. 所有者可以在生前或死后转让股份. Voting and non-voting stock can allow division between on-farm heirs and off-farm heirs.

有限责任公司

A limited 责任 company (LLC) is a business organization that combines the limited 责任 of a corporation with the flow-through tax characteristics of a partnership. Members (owners) of the LLC are not personally liable for the debts and liabilities of the business, 只要遵守商务手续就行. However, profits and losses pass through to the members, so are taxed only at the personal level.

Limited 责任 companies were enabled in the 1990’s to improve upon the S 公司’s promise of limited 责任 and one level of taxation. 房地产和增值资产可以安全地存放在有限责任公司. LLCs are increasingly popular, with 35% of United States businesses organized as LLCs.

Business succession proves to be relatively easy with a LLC, similar to corporations. 所有权"单位"可以在生前和死亡时转让. 除了, some ownership units can hold votes on the business operation and some can not have votes, 允许在非农场继承人和农场继承人之间进行划分.

偶然的伙伴关系

合伙关系不需要书面协议，甚至不需要口头协议. 如果两个或更多的人表现得像伙伴, 法律将意味着合伙承担所有责任. 例如, 如果两个经营者决定一起购买投入, 一起推销产品, 或者为彼此工作, 这种安排开始像一种合伙关系. 如果发生事故，法院可能会裁定所有“合伙人”都要承担个人责任.

Operators who collaborate with others should consider a written agreement to clarify the relationship. 除了, all parties should confirm with their 责任 insurance carrier that accidents are covered by the policy.

魔术有限责任公司

有限责任公司的流行导致了一种围绕组织形式的神话. 许多人似乎相信，创建有限责任公司可以解决任何商业问题. The LLC is a tool and should not be used because your neighbor has one or it is cool. 与你的商业顾问讨论你的目标，包括你的律师. 有限责任公司可能是实现目标的好工具，但也有其他可用的工具. 有限责任公司不会让你成为更好的经理人, 让你的生意更有利可图，或者保护你免受债权人的侵害.

有限责任说明

公司和有限责任公司提供的有限责任是非常有限的. 首先，企业中的任何资产都受制于负债. 第二个, 对于许多贷款，贷款人将要求业主提供个人担保, 取决于抵押品的价值. 最后, 如果没有遵循商务手续, courts will look beyond the business entity and impose personal 责任 on the owners.

The best way to protect the business from 责任 is to engage in practices to keep operations safe. 除了, every business should have 责任 insurance, with the owners named as co-insured. Consult with your insurance agent to make sure that your activities are covered by the policy.

商业协议

不管你使用什么商业实体, 商业协议调整法律安排以满足家族目标. 永远不要接受样板式的经营协议或商业组织. Discuss your goals with your attorney and form business agreements to further those goals. Agreements can address the 5 D’s- Death, Disability, Divorce, Disaster, and Disagreements. 协议的类型包括买卖安排, 优先购买权, 以及对谁可能拥有企业权益的限制. 后一项协议可以确保企业留在家族手中.

结论

存在各种不同的商业组织. 在考虑哪个商业组织最适合你的目标时, 考虑所得税, 责任, 商业继承, 除其他因素外. 不管你选择什么类型的组织, 确保你精心起草了商业协议来实现你的目标, and make sure that you have adequate 责任 insurance coverage that protects your assets. 最后，与你的律师、税务顾问和其他人一起做出正确的选择.

作者

杰西·J. 理查森,小. is a Professor of Law and the Lead Land Use Attorney at the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic at the West Virginia University College of Law.