Английский язык. Учебное пособие-2

lieved to differ functionally from the individual proprietorship or partnership. Its purpose is to conduct business and make money for the owners.

But the corporation is far more influential in the markets in which it buys materials, components and labour and in which it sells its finished products than the individual proprietorship.

There is no such thing as a corporation. There are several kinds of corporations deriving from a common but very loose framework. Some are subject to the market; others reflect varying degrees of adaptation to the requirements of planning and the needs of the technostructure.

The most obvious requirement of effective planning is large size of a company. This allows the firm to accept market uncertainty where it cannot be eliminated; to control the markets in which it buys and sells.

Planning is a function that is associated in most minds with the state. If the corporation is a basic planning unit, it is appropriate to the scale of operations which approximate those of government. This they do.

Answer the following questions.

1.What is the purpose of corporation?

2.How does the corporation protect those people who supply capital?

3.What is the difference between the corporation and the individual proprietorship or partnership?

4.What is unique in a corporation?

5.Why is large size of the company so important?

Text 3

Small Business in the USA

an S-Corporation

It is generally believed that small companies should incorporate as S- corporations. While an S-corporation enjoys many corporate attributes (the main is that the owners of a corporation do not expose their personal assets to corporate liability), it is treated like a partnership for the purposes of determining its Federal income tax liability. At the end of each fiscal year, its total earnings (or losses) are prorated to each shareholder, and these earnings (or losses) are incorporated into their individual income tax returns.

Among the advantages of the S-corporation for small business is no «double taxation» - paying an income tax on corporate net income, and then paying an individual income tax on the dividend income subsequently distributed by the corporation.

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Thus, an S-corporation «generally will not be liable for federal income tax.» If losses are incurred during the start-up period (or any other period), these losses can be deducted each year from the shareholders’ tax returns. All income, losses, credits, and deductions are «washed through» the S-corporation at the end of each fiscal year, and carried directly to the individual tax return for each shareholder. Being emptied out at the end of each fiscal year, the S-corporation has no retained earnings account.

For most small businesses, the S-corporation has long been the preferred corporate structure. The operational accounting is simpler, and accounting, legal, and administrative expenses are minimized. Shareholders receive the immediate benefits of earnings without «double taxation», and the shelter of tax deductive losses on their individual tax returns. There are sound reasons to state that this is generally the most popular corporate structure.

However, for small businesses that are growing rapidly, the conventional C-corporation status may turn out to be more preferable. The primary motivation for such a change would be the ability to retain and reinvest earnings in the expanding business.

The maximum Federal income tax rate for C-corporation is 34 percent for taxable income up to $10,0 million, whereas the maximum tax rate on S- corporation income is now the maximum Individual rate of 39,6 per cent. At the other end of the range, the Federal tax on corporate income of $100,000 is $22,250 for a С-corporation, whereas the incremental tax on this income added to other income of the shareholder in an S-corporation could he as high $39,600 if the shareholders are already in the maximum tax bracket. If the business is striving to retain and reinvest all possible cash during a period of strong growth, it will obviously forgo distributing cash dividends thereby avoiding the problem of «double taxation».

The maximum tax will be effectively reduced by more than 16 per cent, and substantial funds will then be retained to meet the capital needs of the expanding enterprise. Discounting the effects of depreciation charges, this shift of corporate structure yields almost a 10 per cent increase in net cash flow.

Notes:

1.S-corporation – малая корпорация, имеющая 35 и меньше акционеров.

2.C-corporation – частная компания с ограниченной ответственностью.

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Answer the following questions.

1.What types of corporation are described?

2.What is the main advantage of the S-corporation status?

3.What does the term «double taxation» mean?

4.Why is the S-corporation the preferred corporate structure for most small businesses?

5.In what case is the C-corporation status more preferable than the S-corporation status?

Text 4

Common and Continental Law

Each country in the world has its own system of law. There are two main traditions of law in the world. One is based on English Common law1. The other tradition is known as Continental, or Roman law.

Common law, or case law system, differs from Continental law as it has developed gradually throughout history. It is not the result of government attempts to codify every legal relation. Customs and court rulings have been as important as statutes (government legislation). Judges do not merely apply the law, in some cases they make law, and their interpretations may become precedents2 for other courts.

Before William of Normandy invaded England in 1066 no law was common to the whole kingdom. The Norman Kings sent travelling judges around the country and gradually a «common law» developed. Uniform application of the law throughout the country was promoted by the gradual development of the doctrine of precedent.

The doctrine of precedent is still a central feature of modern common law systems.

Even when governments make new laws – statutes, they are interpreted by the courts in order to fit particular cases, and these interpretations become new precedents.

Continental systems, codified legal systems, have resulted from attempts by governments to produce a set of codes so that the state could govern every legal aspect of a citizen's life.

When the lawmakers were codifying their legal systems, they looked to the example of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, whose legislators wanted to break with previous case law.

The lawmakers were also influenced by the model of the Canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, but the most important models were the

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codes produced in the seventh century under the direction of the Roman Emperor Justinian.

Versions of Roman law had long influenced many parts of Europe but had little impact on English law.

Notes:

1.Common law – общее право, обычное право.

2.Precedent – прецедент.

Answer the following questions.

1.What main traditions of law are there in the world?

2.What is the essence of English Common law ?

3.How did the Norman Kings develop a “common law” throughout the country?

4.What doctrine is a central feature of modern common law sys-

tems?

5.What have continental systems of law resulted from?

Text 5

English Law

English law can be divided into Statute Law1, Common Law and Case Law2. Statute Law consists of all laws passed by Parliament. The majority of laws are proposed and drafted by the government in power, any member of the House of Commons or House of Lords can also propose a law. An exception to this is that only a member of the House of Commons may introduce a Financial Bill. The laws that are drafted by the government, as the laws proposed by individual members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords must be agreed to by Parliament before they become effective. That means that they must be passed by the House of Commons, approved (in most cases) by the House of Lords, and confirmed by the Sovereign.

Common Law consists of principles and rules of conduct based on the ancient customs of the country and recognized by the Courts as Law. Common Law is unwritten, and its principles can be learnt only by intensive study of past court decisions and ancient custom. The Common Law can, however, be changed or developed by statute.

But more important perhaps than either the Statute Law or even the Common Law are decisions of the Courts. Just as the many ancient customs of the land make up the Common Law, the collected decisions of the Courts form English «Case Law». Once Parliament has passed a law, the

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courts must decide what the words of that law mean. The interpretation of the Courts remains till either a higher Court decides that this interpretation wan wrong, or Parliament passes another law and changes it.

So once a Court decided against the government on a question of what a law means – and the Courts may decide that a law as worded means something quite different from what the government intended – the government must accept the decision of the Court. They may, if the Houses agree, pass another law. But that takes a great deal of time and trouble.

Notes:

1.Statute law – статутное право, писанный закон.

2.Case law – прецедентное право.

Answer the following questions.

1.What laws does Statute Law consist of?

2.What is the procedure of making a law?

3.What principles and rules does Common Law consist of?

4.What forms English “Case Law”?

5.Whose decision - a Court or the government is more important in the case of interpretation the law?

Text 6

Ancient Systems of Law

One of the earliest systems of law of which we have knowledge is the collection of laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian king, who lived in about 1900 B.C., and whose stone figure we can see in the British Museum in London. Another early code is the code of Hebrew Law1 contained in Book of Exodus2 in the Bible.

In Greece each city state had its own law; some laws were common to many states. In the seventh century B.C.3 the Greeks began to put their laws into writing. About 594 B.C. Solon, the famous Athenian law-giver, provided a new code of law. The Athenians did not consider it necessary to have legal experts for non-criminal cases. In a civil case the verdict was given by a jury, which might number anything from 201 to 2,500. The members of the jury listened to speeches made by the persons who had brought case before them, and by their friends. Barristers did not participate in court proceedings, but professional speech-writers sometimes prepared speeches.

Roman law is one of the greatest systems that have ever existed. It was based upon custom, and by A.D.4 528 the quantity of Roman Law had

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become so immense that the Emperor Justinian in Constantinople ordered to make a clear, systematic code of all the laws.

Roman law had a deep influence upon the law of the world. It had a strong influence on the law of most European countries and some influence on Anglo-Saxon law, which is the other great law system of the world. After many years Roman law reappeared in the eleventh century, when there was a great revival of learning. Many European countries began to use Roman law in their courts. In France, however, until Napoleon codified the law in 1804, each province had its own laws. The Napoleonic Code was splendid achievement, and it has influenced the law of many tries in Europe and South America.

Notes:

1.Hebrew Law – древнееврейское право.

2.Book of Exodus – Исход (2-я книга Ветхого Завета).

3.B.C. before Christ – до нашей эры.

4.A.D. anno Domini (лат.) – нашей эры.

Answer the following questions.

1.What ancient systems of law do we have knowledge of?

2.What book contains one of the earliest systems of law?

3.When did the Greeks begin to put their laws into writing?

4.What is one of the greatest systems of law?

5.What system of law had a great influence on the law of the world?

Text 7

The Sources of English Law

On the Continent the writings of legal authors form an important source of law. In England, in accordance with the tradition the courts are the interpreters of the law. The «sources» of law are the sources to which the courts turn in order to determine what it is. From the aspect of their sources, laws are traditionally divided into two main categories according to the form in which they are made. They may either be written or unwritten. These traditional terms .are misleading, because the expression «written» law signifies any law that is formally enacted, whether reduced to writing or not, and the expression «unwritten» law signifies all unenacted laws. For example, judicial decisions are often reduced to writing in the form of law reports, but as they are not formal enactments they are «unwritten» laws.

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Under the influence of the Code Napoleon many continental countries have codified their law, public and private. On the Continent, therefore, the volume of written law is more than the volume of unwritten. In England in accordance with the tradition writings of the laws had comparatively little respect in the past and for the most part have never been enacted. So in England where more of the laws derive from judicial precedents, unwritten law is predominant. This does not, of course, mean that none оf English law is codified. Many parts of it are codified: such as the law on the sale of goods (Sale of Goods Act 1979) and the law on partnership (Partnership Act 1890). All that means that although Parliament may and does make any laws it pleases, there is no whole system of codification which prevails in many continental countries.

Two principal and two subsidiary sources of English law must be mentioned. These principal sources are Legislation, and Judicial Precedent, the subsidiary sources are Custom and Books of Authority which carry a weight of authority almost equal to that of precedents.

Answer the following questions.

1.What are the two main types of sources of law?

2.Are English laws «written»?

3.What does the expression «unwritten law» mean?

4.What do most of the laws in England derive from?

5.Are all «written» laws in England reduced to writing?

Text 8

Lawmaking Process in Great Britain

New legislation in Britain usually starts in the House of Lords. In each house a bill is considered in three stages, called readings. The first reading is purely formal, to introduce the bill. The second is usually the occasion for debate. After the second reading the bill is examined in detail by a committee.

The bill is then returned to one of the houses for the report stage, when it can be amended. If passed after its third reading, it goes to the other house. Amendments made to a bill by the House of Lords must be considered by the Commons. If the House of Commons does not agree, the bill is altered and send back to the Lords. In the event of persistent disagreement between the two houses, Commons prevails.

Finally, the bill goes to the reigning monarch for the royal assent. Nowadays the royal assent is merely a formality. In theory the queen

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could still refuse her consent, but the last monarch to use this power was Queen Anne, who vetoed the unpopular Scottish Militia Bill in 1707.

Answer the following questions.

1.Where does new legislation in Britain usually start?

2.How many stages is a bill considered in each house?

3.What do they do with a bill if the House of Commons does not agree with the amendments made to a bill by the House of Lords?

4.Can the queen veto a bill?

5.Who was the last monarch to use the power of veto?

Text 9

Lawmaking Process in the United States of America

The US Congress, the lawmaking arm of the federal government, consists of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Any congressman in either house, or the president, may initiate new legislations.

The proposed legislation, or bill, is first introduced in the House of Representatives, then referred to one of the standing committees, which organizes hearings on it and may approve, amend or shelve the draft. If the committee passes the bill, it is considered by the House of Representatives as a whole. If passed there, it goes to the Senate for a similar sequence of committee hearings and general debate.

In cases of disagreement, the House of Representatives and the Senate confer together. Once passed by the Senate as a whole, the bill has to be examined by two more standing committees – the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration – and is then signed by the speaker of the House and by the president of the Senate.

Finally, it must be signed by the president, who has the right to veto it. If the president vetoes a bill, it can still become a law – but only if it is passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.

Answer the following questions.

1.Who may initiate new legislations in the USA?

2.When is a bill considered by the House of Representatives as a

whole?

3.What standing committees examine a bill passed by the Senate as

a whole?

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4.Who has the right to veto a bill?

5.Can a bill still become a law if the president vetoes it?

Text 10

Sunday Blues

The so – called blue laws in the United States might better be called Sunday laws, because their intent has been to restrict or forbid business, trade, paid work, or other commercial activities on Sunday, the Sabbath of major Christian sects. In the mid – 1980 blue laws had been repealed or simply ignored in many parts of the nation but continued in certain religious communities.

Secular arguments against blue laws are that they violate the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state and favour one religion, Christianity. A secular argument supporting them is that everybody needs a day of rest each week. Proscribing work on Sunday goes back at least to 4th-century Rome under Constantine the Great, and the practice was strictly supported in the religion – oriented American colonies. The term blue law is said to have arisen from a list of Sabbath rules printed on blue paper for residents of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1781.

Answer the following questions.

1.Why are blue laws called so?

2.What is the intent of Sunday laws?

3.What are secular arguments against blue laws?

4.What century and country does proscribing work on Sunday go

back?

5. Do Sunday laws act in the United States now?

Text 11

Murder

The abolition of capital punishment1 in England in November 1965 was welcomed by most people with humane and progressive ideas. To them it seemed a departure from feudalism, from the cruel pre-Christian spirit of revenge: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Many of these people think differently now. Three unarmed policemen have been killed in London by bandits who shot them down in cold blood. This crime has drawn attention to the fact that since the abolition of capital punishment crime – and especially murder – has been on increase throughout Britain. Today, therefore, public opinion in Britain has changed.

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People who before, also in Parliament, stated that capital punishment was not a deterrent2 to murder - for there have always been murders in all countries with or without the law of execution – now feel that killing the killer is the lesser of two evils. Capital punishment, they think, may not be the ideal answer, but it is better than nothing, especially when, as in England, a sentence of «lifelong» imprisonment (a life sentence, as it is called) only lasts eight or nine years.

All this is very controversial. And all the arguments for and against can be refuted in practice. The problem remains – the problem of how to prevent murders. Some murders are committed by criminals evading arrest, by insane or mentally disturbed people, by cold-blooded sadists completely devoid of all human feelings. The important thing in the prevention of murder is to eliminate as far as possible the weapons and instruments, the guns and knives, with which these crimes are committed, and to stop the dangerous influence of violence in books, films, television and other mass media, from which so many criminals derive their «inspiration».

Notes:

1.Capital punishment – смертная казнь.

2.Deterrent – средство устрашения.

Answer the following questions.

1.Why was the abolition of capital punishment in England in November 1965 welcomed by most people with humane and progressive ideas?

2.Has public opinion in Britain changed today?

3.Most people think now that killing the killer is the lesser of two evils, don’t they?

4.Why do they think so?

5.What is one of the possible decisions of the problem of how to prevent murders?

Text 12

Crime in Great Britain

About 90 per cent of all crimes are dealt with by Magistrates' courts. Sentences (that is, the punishments decided by the court) vary a lot but most people who are found guilty have to pay a fine. Magistrates' courts can impose fines of up to £2,000 or prison sentences of up to six months. If the punishment is to be more severe the case must go to a Crown Court. The most severe punishment is life imprisonment: there has been no death penalty in Britain since 1965.

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