The main reasons why to incorporate a company in USA

Most popular types of business entities in USA

There are several forms of business entities you can choose from to organize your venture. This section contains brief descriptions of the most popular ones.

Corporation

The most popular types of corporations used in the USA are the “C”- Corporation, “S” – Corporation and Non-profit Corporation.

C-Corporation is the most commonly used type of corporations suitable for businesses of any size. C-Corporations can have any number of shareholders. Shareholder’s assets protected from the creditors of the corporation since the liability of the shareholders is limited to the amount contributed by them to the capital of the Corporation.

The only disadvantage of C-Corporations is double taxation as profits are taxed first as income to the corporation, then as income to the shareholder when distributed as dividends. In some cases small corporations having not more than 75 shareholders can obtain S-Corporation status. If a corporation has S-Corporation status, it is treated as a Partnership or a Limited Liability Company for tax purposes. S-corporations are not separately taxable entities, so the income is “passed-through” to the shareholders.

In cases where intended activity of the Corporation is connected with education, charity, or scientific activity there is an opportunity to establish a Non-Profit Corporation. Net profit of such corporation is not subject to taxes if it is destined for corporate purposes and is not allocated between the shareholders, directors or other officers.

Limited Liability Company

This type of business organization combines the corporate advantages of limited liability with the partnership advantage of pass-through taxation.

In other words, the members of an LLC can be managers of the company not exposing to risks their personal assets.

Limited Liability Companies are taxed on the level of its members like Partnerships.

The main difference between an LLC and an S-Corporation is that all profits, liabilities, losses and deductions of S-corporation are divided between the owners in proportion to the number of shares held by them. An LLC is more flexible as to the division of these items between the owners.

Partnership

The most simple type of partnership is a Sole Partnership. A Sole Partnership is a business entity connected with the sole owner. In this case the owner runs the business on his own behalf.

A General Partnership is a form of business organized by two or more individuals who do not want to set up a Corporation or other type of company. In this case the members are responsible for any debts and liabilities in proportion to their stake in share capital of the Partnership. In the same way they participate in the distribution of profits.

In the case of a General Partnership, only the income of the members is subject to taxes.

In a Limited Partnership the assets and liabilities are divided between general and limited partners. Thus, limited partners in contrast to general members are liable for the debts and liabilities of the Partnership only to the amount of their stakes in the partnership’s capital.

In a Limited Liability Partnership the assets of each partner are more secured. This is due to the fact that the members of a Limited Liability Partnership do not bear responsibility for any debts or liabilities that have been caused by improper or invalid acts of the other members, officers or agents of the Partnership. In all other cases the members of the Partnership are liable for all debts and liabilities of the Partnership as well as for all debts and liabilities that have been caused by acts committed by any officer subordinated directly or managed by the partners.

 

Why incorporate a business entity?

Limited Liability of Shareholders

The hallmark of a business Corporation is the limited liability afforded to its owners, the shareholders. This is because a Corporation is regarded as having a separate legal existence from its stockholders – that is, it is capable of making contracts, owning property, suing/being sued, and the like. Thus, under normal circumstances, a Corporation, as a separate legal entity, and not its stockholders, is responsible for the Corporation’s own corporate debts and obligations. By way of contrast, each of the partners of a Partnership is subject to unlimited personal liability with respect to the debts of the Partnership. In order to maintain the shield of limited shareholder liability, a Corporation must, among other things, observe basic formalities such as maintaining corporate records (e.g., minute book, conducting annual shareholder meetings/actions by consent in lieu of such meetings, etc.). Our Corporate Kit and Compliance Services can help you meet these requirements.

Perpetual Existence

As a separate legal entity, a Corporation continues notwithstanding the death or incapacity of any of its shareholders or the transfer of any of its shares.

Centralized Management

The management and control of a Corporation’s affairs is centralized in a board of directors and officers acting under the board’s authority.

Ownership and the Raising of Capital

Subject to compliance with applicable federal and State securities laws, and absent any relevant restrictions in corporate organizing documents or stockholder agreements, (i) a Corporation’s outstanding stock can be transferred fairly easily from one holder to another and (ii) a Corporation can raise capital more easily than other types of business organization through the sale of stock.

What is a Limited Liability Company?

Quasi-Corporation / Quasi-Partnership

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is an unincorporated association organized under State Law. It is a hybrid entity in that it combines certain attributes of Corporations (e.g., limited owner liability) with certain attributes of Partnerships (e.g., tax treatment). The owners of an LLC are generally called members. Some States require a minimum of two members, but others, such as Delaware, allow one-member LLCs.

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of Corporations and LLCs?

General

As discussed above, both Corporations and Limited Liability Companies afford their owners (stockholders in the case of Corporations; members in the case of LLCs) limited liability protection, i.e., the owners of the relevant entity are typically not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of its business.

Taxation

The primary difference between Corporations and LLCs is that Corporations are separate tax-paying entities while LLCs are normally taxed as Partnerships. This means that a traditional Corporation (C Corporation) is subject to a corporate income tax and its stockholders are subject to an additional tax when they receive dividends (Double Taxation). In an LLC, there is no separate tax at the company level and the members are taxed directly on the company’s profits (Pass-through Taxation). A C Corporation can avoid Double Taxation by electing Pass-through Taxation, i.e., S Corporation status, and thereby attaining tax treatment similar to that of an LLC. It should be noted, however, that S Corporations may not have more than 75 stockholders, and none of these may be a Corporation or a non-U.S. resident. Furthermore, a Corporation’s S Corporation status will lapse (and cause the Corporation to revert to C Corporation status) immediately upon such Corporation’s failure to comply with any of these or other restrictions.

Formalities

A Corporation is required to follow certain formalities. For example, a Corporation must hold an annual meeting of shareholders and meeting minutes must be kept with the Corporation’s records. LLCs are not required to hold such meetings; however, it is a good idea to document the company’s major decisions and hold regular meetings of members.

Management

Ordinarily, Corporations must have directors who are responsible for making policy decisions and officers (e.g., President, Treasurer, and Secretary) who are responsible for day-to-day operations. LLCs may be configured more flexibly. By way of example, an LLC may have one or more managers running the company or the members may manage the LLC directly; no officers or directors are required.

Going Public

If your business is ever likely to go public, it will have to be as a Corporation. It should be noted that an LLC should be able to convert to a Corporation prior to going public without major tax consequences.

Selecting an appropriate State to incorporate (or form an LLC)

Once the decision is made to incorporate a business, the business owner must select an appropriate State for Incorporation. It is not necessary that the business be incorporated in the State in which it is operating; in fact, you can choose from among any of the 50 States or the District of Columbia.

In deciding where to incorporate, some of the factors you may wish to consider include:

• The location of your physical facilities;
• The cost of incorporating in the State in which the business is operating versus the cost of incorporating in one State and qualifying to do business as a foreign Corporation in the State of operation (this decision often boils down to a comparison of such costs with respect to the State of operations and such business friendly jurisdictions as Delaware, Oregon, and Arkansas);
• The advantages and disadvantages of the business laws and tax structure of each of the States under consideration.

A Corporation that is organized in one State and qualifies to do business in another State is subject to applicable annual franchise taxes and fees assessed by each State. Thus, the actual advantage of incorporating in a State with very low or no corporate income tax is not as great as it might first appear, particularly if your business must still qualify to do business in the State in which it is operating.