Key Terms End of Each Chapter Flashcards
(123 cards)
LLC (Limited Liability Company) - L1C1
limited liability & pass through tax treatment income & losses to investors
Unlimited # of persons may invest & have limited liability, & company does not need to have any person retain unlimited liability
LLCs now authorized by law in all 50 states and District of Columbia
Closely Held Business - L1C1
owned by limited # of SHs, who are usually also the primary employees
A CHB is incorporated according to state law, but its shares are not traded, & it operates like a partnership in many ways
Limited Partnership - L1C1
composed of active, or general, partners & passive investment, or limited, partners
GPs have personal responsibility for business operations & unlimited legal liability
LPs only at risk for up to the amount of their investments
Even when additional interests are sold to limited partners to raise capital, the control held by the GPs is not diluted
LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) - L1C1
registers w/ the state so all partners protected by limited liability
All partners may be GPs & still have limited liability
LLP differs from a limited partnership because w/ the latter entity, GPs not protected by limited liability & at least one GP is required
Pass-Through Taxation - L1C1
concept in federal income taxation that business entities, except for corporations, do not pay income tax on their income; rather, the income will be reported by the business owners on their individual income tax returns. As a result, the income will avoid double taxation
Medicare Contribution Tax - L1C1
comprised of:
- 0.9% Medicare tax on earned income
- 3.8% tax on net investment income (NII)
Both taxes imposed on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $200K for individuals and over $250K for married filing jointly
The 3.8% tax is imposed on the lesser of (1) the taxpayer’s NII or (2) MAGI in excess of the threshold amount
NII (Net Investment Income) - L1C1
subject to 3.8% Medicare Contribution tax for individuals w/ modified adjusted income over $200K & for married filing jointly over $250K
NII defined to include interest, dividends, payments from NQ annuities, royalties, rents, & capital gains from assets not held in a trade or business
Pass-Through Entity - L1C1
Partnerships & S Corps are said to be pass-through entities
The earnings of these companies are not taxed to the company but to the owners
earnings are passed through to the owners & then taxed @ the owners’ individual tax rates
Termination by Operation of Law - L1C1
occurs in a general partnership upon death of one of the partners
surviving partners forced to liquidate business & distribute the assets according to the relative partnership interests or the surviving partners will sell the assets & distribute the cash
The decedent’s estate must be paid for its ownership interest
Key Employee - L1C1
an employee who possesses unique skills, knowledge, or business contacts, & whose loss would be devastating to the company
The death/disability of a key employee results in loss of income for the corp
the employee’s unique skills, experience, or talent may not be easily replaced @ the same salary level
Another significant contribution which may be from a key employee is a large client following or a large source of capital or credit to the company
Compensation Planning - L1C1
Purpose is to create a compensation package that best meets the needs of the owners & the business
Planning must take into consideration the sources of income for the business, any tax costs, & ways to minimize the costs of the compensation package
Guaranteed Payments - L1C1
When fixed payments are received by a service partner in an organization, the payments are not called a salary, but guaranteed payments
A service partner is one who provides important skills or services to the partnership
Real Property - L1C1
land & anything permanently attached to the land
Personal Property - L1C1
any property that is not attached to land & generally is moveable
Consequential Losses - L1C1
indirect loss, resulting from a direct loss, which decreases the net income of a business
Such a loss would occur if gross receipts were reduced through the curtailment of operations or if operating expenses were increased
Ex. a fire causes a direct loss by destroying a hotel; consequential losses to the hotel follow as a result of losing the revenues from room rentals
Articles of Incorporation - L1C2
Prepared by organizers of a corp, set forth pertinent facts about the corp, including its purpose, capitalization, # of directors, name, & location; the powers of the directors & the manner of their election; & any other information required by the state
Articles of Incorporation are filed w/ the state, along w/ the filing fees & any taxes
If the articles comply w/ the statues, a certificate of incorporation is issued by the state
Bylaws - L1C2
corporate bylaws = state the duties & powers of the corporation’s BOD &SHs
bylaws provide rules for director & SH meetings & for other matters pertaining to corporate operations
bylaws are adopted either by the directors or the incorporators, depending on state practice
Quorum - L1C2
minimum # of directors (typically a majority) which must be present for the BOD to take any action
Business-Judgement Rule - L1C2
Corporate officers & directors must meet their fiduciary obligations to the corp, which is measured by a standard known as the business-judgement rule
This rule holds that if officers and directors use honest, acceptable business judgment, they will avoid liability for corporate losses
Cumulative Voting - L1C2
voting method designed to insure representation of minority stockholders on BOD
some states require cumulative voting, while other states permit it if authorized by the corporate charter
each share of stock receives one vote for each of the directors to be elected at a meeting
The SHs may accumulate votes and allocate all votes for one candidate or spread the votes among the condidates
Formula to determine the # of votes necessary to elect a given # of directors:
S = ((TxN) / (-D+1)) + 1
S = # of shares needed to elect N directors T = Total # of shares voted N = # of directors the SH hopes to elect D = Total # of director positions to be filled
Voting Trust - L1C2
Arrangement whereby SHs transfer shares in a corp to a trust
the trustee then can exercise voting rights represented by the shares allowing stockholders to combine their votes to realize common objectives, as long as those objectives are proper
The stockholders receive trust certificates for their shares & retain their beneficial interest in the stock such as receipt of dividends
Professional Corporation - L1C2
corp whose owners must be licensed members of the profession
Owned by SHs who perform professional services & who operate their corporation according to state laws, just as any other corp
Proprietorship - L1C2
business enterprise owned by one person
the owner usually manages the business but may hire employees & agents to assist in the operations
Partnership - L1C2
Unincorporated association of two or more persons carrying on as voluntary co-owners in a business for profit