Corporation (redirected from Incorporated businesses)

Corporation

A legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. A corporation is allowed to own assets, incur liabilities, and sell securities, among other things.

---

corporation

An organized body, especially a business, that has been granted a state charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of the individuals within the entity. A corporation can acquire assets, enter into contracts, sue or be sued, and pay taxes in its own name. Corporations issue shares of stock to individuals supplying ownership capital and issue bonds to individuals lending money to the business. The corporation is a desirable organization for a business entity for a variety of reasons including the increased capability such an entity has to raise capital. Most large firms, especially those engaged in manufacturing, are organized as corporations. All stocks sold in the primary market and traded in the secondary market are shares of corporate ownership. Compare partnership, proprietorship. See also incorporate, limited liability, unlimited liability.

---

Corporation

For income tax purposes, an entity that is incorporated under the laws of a state, a foreign entity that is treated as a corporation under IRS regulations, or an unincorporated entity that elects to be taxed as a corporation by filing Form 8832.