The Language of Business Law 7A/Foundation

to run a business

to have control of a business and decide how you manage it

a self-assessment form

a form that you complete the send to the tax authority. You give all of your financial details and calculate the amount of tax that you must pay. You do this yourself

to run up a debt

to create a debt because you borrowed money or bought something on credit

risky

a word to describe an activity or action that is dangerous or that may fail

records and accounts

written details of all your business activities, especially the financial details of the income and outgoing of the business

at risk

this means to be in a situation where something unpleasant may happen

to run into trouble

to experience difficulties (often financial) that you did not expect

income tax

the amount of your income that you have to pay to the government in tax

spółka jawna

general partnership

spółka komandytowa

limited partnership

spółka limitowo-akcyjna

limited stock partnership

an equity partner

a partner who receives a share of the partnership profits and has the right to take part in the management of the partnership

a salaried partner

a partner who receives a fixed amount of money each year, called a salary, paid in monthly installments. This partner does not receive any more of the profits

a sleeping partner

a partner who contributes capital to the partnership but does not take part in the management of the business. He or she receives a share of the partnership profits. This partner is also known as a dormant partner or a silent partner

to incorporate a business means

to set up the business and register it as a company

the founders of a company are

the people who create the company

the members are

the people or companies which own shares in the company

the shareholders are

the same as the members. They are the owners of the company

a share is

one of the equal parts of the company's capital

to hold a share means

to own a share

share capital refers to

the fixed value of each share

the nominal value of a share is

the value of shares that the shareholders own

to issue a share to someone means

to officially give that share to someone so that he or she becomes the owner of that share

to invest money in a company means

to put money into a company by buying shares in the company

a return on an investment is

the money that someone receives from their investment

a dividend is

a payment of the company's profits to its shareholders

market value

this is the amount of money that someone must pay to the company when he or she buys a share

nominal value

this is the value that the people who set up the company decided to fix for all of the shares of the company. It is easier to understand if you think of it as the official value, not the actual value

premium this is the amount of money that someone pays in excess of the nominal value

the difference between the market value and the nominal value

authorised share capital

this is the maximum total value of shares, expressed in nominal terms, that the company is allowed to issue

issued share capital

this is the value of shares, expressed in nominal terms, that the company has actually issued to its shareholders