Why form an Ohio Corporation?
Many individuals have concerns about liability protection in an age where lawsuits are springing up very frequently. Therefore many people like you are searching for ways to protect their personal assets from any litigation. This is where forming an Ohio Corporation will help. By forming a corporation, you are shielding your personal assets from your business assets from litigation. This is a result of creating a separate entity away from you and therefore the obligations and debt of the corporations are not incurred by its owners or share holders. .
Other advantages of forming a corporation are:
- The life of a corporation is independent of the owner, share holder.
- Like a LLC, the corporation will provide limited liability for all of its owners.
- You can easily transfer ownership of the corporation as long as it does not conflict with securities laws.
- Forming a corporation for your business can reduce taxes in some cases. Consult a CPA or lawyer for any tax advantages.
Naming your Corporation
Corporation filed in the state of Ohio are allowed to use the identifiers Corporation, Corp, Inc, and Incorporated. The name of the Corporation must not be identical to that of another corporation of LLC already on file in the state of Ohio. Ohio is one of the more lenient states when it comes to a name being available, for example Run Inc would not conflict with Running Inc. The Secretary of State however will not provide distinction when using spacing, capitals, or the use of punctuation. Also the state will not recognize distinction using words such as “the”, “a”, “and” etc or any other conjunction. Even the designation of the company descriptor is not distinguishable such as Inc. Co. Ltd. The name of the company can't contain the words "bank", "banking", or "trust".
Do I need a statutory agent?
All entities are required to appoint and maintain a statutory agent. A statutory agent can be an individual who is a resident of the state. Also a statutory agent may be served by a domestic corporation holding a license as such under the laws of the state who are authorized by the articles of incorporation as such. The statutory agent will be served any legal documents regarding your business activity if the entity were to be sued. Therefore the statutory agent should be chosen carefully.
What is a subchapter S corporation?
By default, all corporations set up in the state of Ohio are C Corporations. This means that the corporation is taxed as its own entity and any profits and or dividends pass to individuals are taxed as well. This is what's known as double taxation. When an S corporation if filed with the IRS, this changes the tax structure to make it a pass through taxation meaning all taxes are pass through the corporation and to the individual directly. The individual alone would be liable for the taxes generated by the corporation.
|
