Abstract
Small business owners in the United States can organize their businesses as corporations, where the business income is subject to double taxation, or as flow-through entities, where there is only a single tier of taxation. One might assume that the flow-through entity provides more favorable tax benefits. However, if the corporate tax rate is less than the business owner's individual tax rate, a corporation might actually provide more favorable tax benefits. This depends on several factors, including tax rates, the rate of return earned on the business' assets, and on the business owner's investment horizon. We analyze the optimal form, for United States federal income tax purposes, of organizing a small business and develop indifference curves to illustrate the situations where these organizational forms have equivalent tax consequences. The indifference curves allow the small business owner to quickly and more accurately assess the optimal organizational form. Non-tax concerns are also discussed, as well as the applicability of the analyses to other countries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 24-35 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Small Business Management |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - Jan 1996 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Business, Management and Accounting
- Strategy and Management
- Management of Technology and Innovation