Business structure and liability · 企业结构与责任
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| legal structure/ˈliːɡl ˈstrʌktʃə/ | 法律结构 | fǎ lǜ jié gòu |
| liable/ˈlaɪəbl/ | 负有责任 | fù yǒu zé rèn |
| sole trader/səʊl ˈtreɪdə/ | 个体经营者 | gè tǐ jīng yíng zhě |
| unlimited liability/ʌnˈlɪmɪtɪd ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ | 无限责任 | wú xiàn zé rèn |
| partnership/ˈpɑːtnəʃɪp/ | 合伙企业 | hé huǒ qǐ yè |
| shareholders/ˈʃeəhəʊldəz/ | 股东 | gǔ dōng |
| limited liability/ˈlɪmɪtɪd ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ | 有限责任 | yǒu xiàn zé rèn |
| incorporated/ɪnˈkɔːpəreɪtɪd/ | 注册成立的 | zhù cè chéng lì de |
| assets/ˈæsets/ | 资产 | zī chǎn |
| float/fləʊt/ | 上市 | shàng shì |
| stock exchange/stɒk eksˈtʃeɪndʒ/ | 证券交易所 | zhèng quàn jiāo yì suǒ |
| regulation/ˌreɡjʊˈleɪʃn/ | 监管 | jiān guǎn |
| takeover/ˈteɪkəʊvə/ | 收购 | shōu gòu |
Who owns it — and who pays if it fails?
- Two friends running a market stall and a giant like Apple are both "businesses" — but legally they're worlds apart.
- The legal structure 法律结构 decides who owns the firm, who controls it, and who is liable 负有责任 for its debts.
谁拥有它——以及如果它失败谁付钱?
- 经营一个市场摊位的两个朋友和一个像苹果这样的巨头都是"企业"——但在法律上它们天差地别。
- 法律结构(legal structure)决定谁拥有这个企业、谁控制它,以及谁为它的债务负责。
Choose the ownership form · 选择所有权形式
Compare ownership, control and liability in real business types. · 比较真实企业类型中的所有制权、控制权和责任。
A sole trader has: · 个体经营者拥有：
A sole trader is not incorporated, so liability is unlimited. · 个体经营者未注册为公司，因此责任是无限的。
The main legal forms
- Sole trader 个体经营者: one owner, easy to set up, keeps all profit — but unlimited liability 无限责任.
- Partnership 合伙企业: 2+ owners share capital, skills and risk; usually still unlimited liability.
- Private limited company (Ltd) and public limited company (plc): owned by shareholders 股东, with limited liability 有限责任.
Legal forms split by liability: unincorporated and incorporated 注册成立的
主要的法律形式
- 个体经营者(sole trader):一个所有者、容易建立、保留所有利润——但无限责任。
- 合伙(partnership):2 个以上所有者分担资本、技能和风险;通常仍是无限责任。
- 私人有限公司(Ltd)和公众有限公司(plc):由股东(shareholders)拥有,带有限责任。
按责任划分的法律形式:非法人和法人
Limited liability means shareholders: · 有限责任意味着股东：
Their loss is capped at their investment. · 他们的损失上限为其投资额。
An incorporated company is a separate legal identity from its owners. · 注册公司是其所有者之外的独立法律实体。
Incorporation creates a separate legal person, enabling limited liability. · 注册设立了一个独立的法律人格，从而实现有限责任。
When owners risk their personal assets for business debts, they have ______ liability. · 当所有者为商业债务冒个人资产风险时，他们具有______责任。
Sole traders and ordinary partnerships have unlimited liability. · 个体经营者和普通合伙企业的责任是无限的。
Limited vs unlimited liability
- Unlimited liability: the owner is personally responsible for all debts — even their house is at risk.
- Limited liability: shareholders can lose only what they invested — their personal assets 资产 are protected.
Limited liability needs a separate legal identity. Only an incorporated business (Ltd or plc) is legally separate from its owners. A sole trader or ordinary partnership is not, so its owners carry unlimited liability.
A company headquarters: businesses range from sole traders to giant public limited companies
有限责任对无限责任
- 无限责任(unlimited liability):所有者个人对所有债务负责——甚至他们的房子也有风险。
- 有限责任(limited liability):股东只会损失他们投资的——他们的个人资产受保护。
有限责任需要一个独立的法律身份。 只有一个法人(incorporated)企业(Ltd 或 plc)在法律上与它的所有者分离。一个个体经营者或普通合伙不是,所以它的所有者承担无限责任。
一个公司总部:企业的范围从个体经营者到巨大的公众有限公司
A key feature of a public limited company (plc) is that it can: · 公众有限公司 (plc) 的一个关键特征是它可以：
A plc can float shares publicly, raising large capital but facing more scrutiny. · 公众有限公司可以公开发行股票，筹集大量资本但面临更多审查。
Ltd vs plc
- A private company (Ltd) cannot sell shares to the public; shares are sold privately.
- A public company (plc) can float 上市 shares on the stock exchange 证券交易所 — raising large sums, but facing more regulation 监管 and a risk of takeover 收购.
Ltd 对 plc
- 一个私人公司(Ltd)不能向公众出售股份;股份被私下出售。
- 一个公众公司(plc)能在证券交易所上市(float)股份——筹集大笔款项,但面对更多监管和被收购的风险。
You've got it
- legal forms: sole trader, partnership, Ltd, plc
- unlimited liability risks personal assets; limited liability caps loss at the investment
- only incorporated firms (Ltd/plc) are legally separate and have limited liability
你掌握了
- 法律形式:个体经营者、合伙、Ltd、plc
- 无限责任使个人资产有风险;有限责任把损失限定在投资额
- 只有法人企业(Ltd/plc)在法律上分离且有有限责任