Partnership

Related Terms: Limited Liability Company

MAJOR TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS

Various forms of business organizations are differentiated by the tax and other liabilities borne by their investors. Three major forms in the mid-2000s were corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs).

In a corporation an investor only risks the value of his or her investments in the company in the case of failure and only owes taxes on dividend income received. The corporation is legally a "person" and pays its own taxes. It is also at liberty to pay or not to pay dividends, although it is technically governed by the will of a majority of stockholders. The stockholder, in effect, is taxed twice: first on the net income of the corporation that he or she owns (in part) and then on the dividends. The investor, of course, never sees the first tax but gets less in dividends because it is paid by the company.

In a partnership each partner is an equal co-owner of the entity, pays an equal share of taxes due, and, in case of failure, equally shares in all of the liabilities of the partnership. Thus, in a partnership, liabilities are shared but not limited. The benefit of partnerships is that general partners are only taxed once. The partnership itself pays no taxes.

In an LLC the structures of a corporation and of a partnership are combined. Participants are "exposed" only to the extent of their investment because the LLC is treated as a corporation for purposes of liability; at the same time, the taxes owed by the LLC are paid by the participants in proportion to their share in the revenues. They are taxed once, not twice, as in corporations. LLCs, described in more detail elsewhere in this volume, are a relatively recent form of organization and growing rapidly because of the advantages that they offer. Because LLCs are limited in various ways, their growth appears above all to impact partnerships—the form of organization described in this article.

WHAT PARTNERSHIPS ARE

In the words of the Uniform Partnership Act, a partnership is "an association of two or more persons to carry on as Co-owners of a business for profit." The essential characteristics of this business form, then, are the collaboration of two or more owners, the conduct of business for profit (a nonprofit cannot be designated as a partnership), and the sharing of profits, losses, and assets by the joint owners. A partnership is not a corporate or separate entity; rather it is viewed as an extension of its owners for legal and tax purposes, although a partnership may own property as a legal entity. While a partnership may be founded on a simple agreement, even a handshake between owners, a well-crafted and carefully worded partnership agreement is the best way to begin the business. In the absence of such an agreement, the Uniform Partnership Act, a set of laws pertaining to partnerships that has been adopted by most states, governs the business.

There are two types of partnerships:

General Partnerships In this standard form of partnership, all of the partners are equally responsible for the business's debts and liabilities. In addition, all partners are allowed to be involved in the management of the company. In fact, in the absence of a statement to the contrary in the partnership agreement, each partner has equal rights to control and manage the business. Therefore, unanimous consent of the partners is required for all major actions undertaken. It is well to note, however, that any obligation made by one partner is legally binding on all partners, whether or not they have been informed.

Limited Partnerships In a limited partnership, one or more partners are general partners, and one or more are limited partners. General partners are personally liable for the business's debts and judgments against the business; they can also be directly involved in the management. Limited partners are essentially investors (silent partners, so to speak) who do not participate in the company's management and who are also not liable beyond their investment in the business. State laws determine how involved limited partners can be in the day-today business of the firm without jeopardizing their limited liability. This business form is especially attractive to real estate investors, who benefit from the tax incentives available to limited partners, such as being able to write off depreciating values.

ADVANTAGES

Collaboration. As compared to a sole proprietorship, which is essentially the same business form but with only one owner, a partnership offers the advantage of allowing the owners to draw on the resources and expertise of the co-partners. Running a business on your own, while simpler, can also be a constant struggle. But with partners to share the responsibilities and lighten the workload, members of a partnership often find that they have more time for the other activities in their lives.

Tax advantages. The profits of a partnership pass through to its owners, who report their share on their individual tax returns. Therefore, the profits are only taxed once (at the personal level of its owners) rather than twice, as is the case with corporations, which are taxed at the corporate level and then again at the personal level when dividends are distributed to the shareholders. The benefits of single taxation can also be secured by forming an S corporation (although some ownership restrictions apply) or by forming a limited liability company (a new hybrid of corporations and partnerships that is still evolving).

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