Business Start-up Options – Companies, Company Formations, Company Registrations,

A company is a legal entity owned by it’s members, but separate from its shareholders, and is managed by it’s office holders (director(s), secretary, public officer) who have specific legal and reporting obligations. There are a number of variants is company structures, each subject to different regulatory requirements including:

• Proprietary Limited (Pty Ltd) – Is a private held with, in most cases, limited liability of it’s shareholders to pay the debts of the company. Minimum of one director. Other limitation can apply to a Pty Ltd company. A Pty Ltd company is most suited to small private or family held businesses.
• Limited by Guarantee – Is a public company where members guarantee to pay a fixed but small amount of money in the event of the liquidation of the company.
• Limited – (Ltd) – Is a public company with limited liability similar liability to Pty Ltd.

A “Shelf” company is a company that has not traded and has zero transactions or activity.

Profits of a company are shared with it’s members or shareholders, who also have the power to control the company through voting rights. Companies have always been popular for both limiting liability of business owners and for taxation planning. However, due to legislative changes and case law, many of those benefits have been diluted over the years.