45. What is a tax assessor?

An assessor is a specialist who calculates the value of property. The value calculated by the assessor is then used as the basis for determining the amounts to be paid or assessed for tax or insurance purposes.

Since, a major source of government revenue is the property tax — a tax on real property and tangible or intangible personal property. The main problem with personal property as a source of revenue is that many items are not always brought to the attention of the tax assessor — the person who places value on property for tax purposes. Because of this, many things that should be taxed never are. That is why the tax assessor is a very important specialist in a modern society.

46. What is the main purpose of a business organization?

A business organization is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods or services, or both, to consumers, businesses and governmental entities. The main purpose of a business organization is profit maximization. Only the not-for-profit companies are working for other purposes like human rights, gender discriminations etc. Most businesses are privately owned. A business is typically formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself.

The owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for work and acceptance of risk. Notable exceptions include cooperative enterprises and state-owned enterprises. Businesses can also be formed not-for-profit or be state-owned.

47. What are the major types of business organizations?

There are three major kinds of business organizations: the sole proprietorship, the partnership and the corporation.

The most common form of business organization is the sole proprietorship — a business owned and run by one person. Sole proprietorships are generally found in small-scale retail and service businesses such as beauty salons, repair shops, or service stations.

A partnership is a business that is jointly owned by two or more people who have combined their talents and resources for the purpose of earning a profit. Partnerships are most common in such professional fields as medicine, law, accounting, stockbrokerage, but they are also found in manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing.

A corporation is a business organization created under a government charter. Ownership of a corporation is represented by shares of stock, and for that reason corporate owners are known as stockholders.

48. What is a sole proprietorship?

The most common form of business organization is the sole proprietorship — a business owned and run by one person. Sole proprietorships are generally found in small-scale retail and service businesses such as beauty salons, repair shops, or service stations.

The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is the easiest form of business to start and run.

Sole proprietors own all the profits of their enterprises and are free to make whatever changes they please.

The major disadvantage of a sole proprietorship is the unlimited liability that each proprietor faces. If a business fails, the owner must personally assume the debts. This could mean the loss of personal property such as automobiles, homes and savings.

A second disadvantage of the sole proprietorship is that it has limited financial resources. The money that a proprietor can raise is limited by the amount of savings and ability to borrow.