US

THE LLC CONCEPT The Limited Liability Company (LLC) has special features that distinguish it from ordinary companies. Like a corporation, an LLC has a legal existence separate and distinct from its owners. Like the shareholders and directors of an ordinary company, the members and managers of an LLC are not personally liable for the LLC’s debts and obligations. The principal attractions of the LLC for advisors and their clients are its operation and tax treatment: Operationally the management of the LLC functions similarly to a partnership and is governed by a written agreement among the members of the LLC; this is different from the traditional corporate governance of companies where management is outlined in the Articles of Association (also known as Bylaws). A properly structured LLC will be treated by many tax regimes as a pass-through entity with tax being paid by the members and not at the LLC level. […]

The prestige enjoyed by Delaware as a corporate domicile is in part due to the emphasis which the state has placed in making its corporate laws, court system and infrastructure attractive to businesses. The success achieved by the state is reflected in the almost one third contribution to the income of the state government from registration and franchise taxes. Other frequently cited reasons for Delaware’s popularity as a company domicile include: 1. Delaware is the only state within the U.S. to have a separate Court of Chancery whose judges are highly experienced in company law. The decisions of that court have established a body of law relevant to corporations which are frequently followed by other courts in the U.S. The Delaware General Corporation Law is used as a standard by which the corporate laws of other states are tested; it is the corporate code that is used in most U.S. […]

When a taxpayer who files a return, a statement or other document with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America or is subject to US withholding requirements by a third party must include a taxpayer identification number (TIN) for securing proper identification. A TIN can be either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). An ITIN is issued to individuals who have US tax reporting or filing requirements and are ineligible to obtain an SSN. An ITIN is arranged the same as a SSN, begins with a 9, is issued by the Internal Revenue Service and is used for tax processing. ITINs are used by the IRS for processing your tax returns and payments. The number does not qualify you to work in the U.S. or provide eligibility for Social Security benefits; it is only for federal tax reporting purposes. ITINs […]