ECONOMICS REPORT - Business Organizations, Part 1

ECONOMICS REPORT - Business Organizations, Part 1
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, February 06, 2004

This is Bob Doughty¹ with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Businesses are structured to meet different needs. One basic difference involves who is responsible for the business. Another involves how long the organization can stay in business. Today we begin a report about ways that businesses are organized under United States tax law.

The simplest form of business is called an individual proprietorship³. The word proprietor² comes from French and Latin words for property owner. The proprietor owns all the property of the business and is responsible for it. This means the proprietor receives all the profits.

But this also means that the proprietor is responsible for all the debts of the business. Also, any legal action against an individual proprietorship is taken against the owner. The law recognizes no difference between the owner and the business.

Most small businesses in the United States are individual proprietorships. The Census⁴ Bureau says there are more the twelve-million of them. United States tax law has simpler reporting requirements for these kinds of businesses. One person may be able to complete all the tax documents required.

Another kind of business is the partnership⁵. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to state how much of the partnership each person controls. They can end the partnership at any time.

But partnerships⁶ and individual proprietorships have a limited life. They exist only as long as the owners are alive.

Some states permit what are called limited liability partnerships. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits. But their responsibilities to the organization are also limited.

A partnership is often called a pass-through entity⁷: money passes through it to the individual partners. The federal government does not tax partnerships. But the partners are taxed on the payments they receive.

Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships to share the profits and risks of doing business. A husband and wife can form a business partnership. The Census Bureau says there are more than one-million American partnerships.

Partnerships and individual proprietorships are usually small business organizations. Next week, we discuss a bigger kind: the corporation.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

3 proprietorship   

n.所有（权）；所有权

参考例句：

• A sole proprietorship ends with the incapacity or death of the owner. 当业主无力经营或死亡的时候，这家个体企业也就宣告结束。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• This company has a proprietorship of the copyright. 这家公司拥有版权所有权。 来自辞典例句

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。