Section 3. Supplementary reading. Exercise 1. Read and translate the text.

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text.

Ownership and Financing

Entrepreneurs need to consider what form of ownership they want for their business and how the business is to be financed. There are a number of alternatives. Each alternative has strengths and weaknesses.

Forms of Ownership. A popular form of legal ownership for many new businesses is thesole proprietorship. About 70 percent of American businesses use this form of ownership. The major proprietorship are that the individual entrepreneur has total freedom over how he or she conducts the business; it's simple to start; start-up costs are low; and the proprietor's business profits are taxed as ordinary income. However, the proprietor has unlimited liability (his or her personal assets are at risk to cover business debts); it may be difficult to raise money; the business ends when the proprietor retires or dies; and there is no one else to rely on. Sears was started as a sole propri­etorship by Richard Sears.

Another form of ownership is thepartnership. There are many varieties of partnerships, but in the basic kind two or more people agree to be partners in a business. The least popular form of ownership, partnerships are often used in accounting, legal, and architectural firms. They provide a larger pool of talent and money than do sole proprie­torships, are easy to form, and offer the same tax benefits as sole proprietorships. However, they offer unlimited liability; they cease to exist when the partnership is dissolved; and conflict or tension between partners is common. Richard Sears added Alvah Roebuck as a partner when his business got too big for him to manage alone.

Most large organizations use thecorporation as their basis for ownership. A corporation is a legal entity created under the law and is independent of any single individual. A corporation can borrow money, enter into contracts, own property, sue, and be sued. Its owners are the people who buy its stock. On the plus side, the corporation is responsible for its own liabilities, so the owners have limited liability. There is continuity in the event of retirement or death. And corpora­tions can often borrow money easily. However, there are higher start­up costs, more regulation, and double taxation (the corporation pays taxes on its profits, and then stockholders pay taxes on their dividends). Still, the corporation is the preferred form of ownership for most large businesses. As Sears, Roebuck, and Company grew into a big business, its owners chose to incorporate.

There are also a few special forms of ownership that some entrepre­neurs adopt. Master limited partnerships and S-corporations are new forms of ownership that provide many of the advantages of corpora­tions but without double taxation. Cooperatives may be used when many small entrepreneurs band together to conduct businesses on a unified basis. Ocean Spray Cranberry, for example, is a cooperative that comprises 700 cranberry growers and 100 citrus growers.

Sources of Financing. An important issue confronting all entrepreneurs is where to get the money to open and operate the business. As we noted earlier, the entrepreneur should not rely too heavily on anticipated profits. Personal resources (savings and money borrowed from friends or family) are the most common source. Personal resources are often the most important source because they underscore and reinforce the entrepreneur's personal commitment to the venture. Many entrepre­neurs take advantage of various lending programs and assistance pro­vided by lending institutions and government agencies. Government programs are especially interested in helping women and minority entrepreneurs. Another common source of funds is venture capitalists. Aventure capitalist is someone who actively seeks to invest in new businesses in return for a share of ownership or profits. The advantage of this approach is access to a large resource base with fewer restrictions than might be imposed by the government or a bank. The entrepreneur, however, must give up a share of the profits or share ownership.

Exercise 2. Translate into English.

Предпринимательское право допускает существование целого спектра форм предприятий. Во-первых, это коммерческие организации: хозяйственные товарищества, общества, производственные кооперативы, государственные и муниципальные предприятия. Коммерческими организациями признаются юридические лица, основной целью которых является получение прибыли. Во-вторых, это некоммерческие организации: фонды, общественные и религиозные организации, некоммерческие партнерства, учреждения и объединения юридических лиц. Некоммерческие организации не ставят своей целью получение прибыли. Они могут заниматься предпринимательской деятельностью и направлять прибыль на достижение основной цели.

Хозяйственные общества и товариществаявляются наиболее распространенными видами коммерческих организаций, образуемые для систематического занятия предпринимательской деятельностью. Товарищества – это объединение лиц, а общества – объединения капитала. Этим обуславливаются следующие различия между ними.

Участники товарищества должны непосредственно участвовать в деятельности товарищества, тогда как в обществе достаточно просто участвовать капиталом. Участниками товарищества могут быть только юридические лица и индивидуальные предприниматели. Участниками общества могут быть любые субъекты гражданского права.

Одно и то же лицо одновременно может участвовать только в одном товариществе, но может быть участником неограниченного числа обществ. Действия полных товарищей являются действиями самого товарищества, тогда как права и обязанности для общества приобретаются действиями его органов.

Товарищество характеризуется полной имущественной ответственностью товарищей своим личным имуществом по обязательствам товарищества. Участники общества никакой имущественной ответственности не несут, кроме общества с ограниченной ответственностью. Их вклады являются собственностью общества. Следовательно, они несут только риск убытков в размере этих вкладов. Для общества установлен минимальный размер капитала, тогда как в отношении товарищества такой нормы нет.

Нормы Гражданского кодекса регулируют статус хозяйственности товарищества. В отношении общества предусматривается издание специальных законов.

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