A tax levied at the state level against businesses and partnerships chartered within that state. In some states, companies with operations in that state may also be liable for the tax even if they are chartered in another state. This is a privilege tax that gives the business the right to be chartered and/or operate within that state. The amount of franchise tax in any given state can differ greatly depending on the tax rules within each state. Some states will calculate the amount of franchise tax owed based on assets or net worth of the business, while other states look at the capital stock of the company.
An agreement between broker-dealers to clear trades without the interaction of the NASDAQ ACT system. This is achieved by sending trades directly to the National Securities Clearing Corporation (a subsidiary of the DTCC). |||This method of clearing trades means simpler processing, cheaper transaction costs, and extended hours of service.
An advantage that a firm has over its competitors, allowing it to generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more customers than its competition. There can be many types of competitive advantages including the firm's cost structure, product offerings, distribution network and customer support. Taobiz explains Competitive Advantage Competitive advantages give a company an edge over its rivals and an ability to generate greater value for the firm and its shareholders. The more sustainable the competitive advantage, the more difficult it is for competitors to neutralize the advantage. There are two main types of competitive advantages: comparative advantage and differential advantage. Comparative advantage, or cost advantage, is a firm's ability to produce a good or service at a lower cost than its competitors, which gives the firm the ability sell its goods or services at a lower price than its competition or to generate a larger margin on sales. A differential advantage is created when a firm's products or services differ from its competitors and are seen as better than a competitor's products by customers.
The idea that insiders have information not available to the market. Moves made by insiders can signal information to outsiders and change the stock price. The thinking goes that if a high level executive, such as a CEO, is selling, he or she is probably doing so for a reason that you, as the public, don't know yet, so you should get out also. The same is true for the opposite. If an insider is buying stocks in his or her company, it signals outsiders to also buy based on the idea that the insider knows more than he or she is letting on to the public.
The steps required to propose a new tax law or a change to an existing one. The process involves the President and Congress. Here is how formal tax legislation works: 1. A tax bill starts in the House of Representatives and is sent to the Ways and Means Committee.2. The committee members reach agreement about the legislation and draft a proposed tax law. 3. The bill is forwarded to the full House for debate, amendment (if necessary), and approval. 4. The bill is sent to the Senate for more review and a rewrite by the Finance Committee. 5. This version is now presented to the Senate for approval. 6. After Senate approval, the bill is sent to a joint committee of House and Senate members who try to compromise and cooperate with each other on a new version. 7. The compromise version of the bill is sent to the House and the Senate for further approval. 8. After all this, it goes to the President, who may sign it, making it law, or veto it by not signing. 9. If the president vetoes the bill, Congress can attempt to override the veto with a 2/3 vote of each house. If Congress is successful, the bill becomes law regardless of the presidential signing.
A security that represents ownership in a corporation. Holders of common stock exercise control by electing a board of directors and voting on corporate policy. Common stockholders are on the bottom of the priority ladder for ownership structure. In the event of liquidation, common shareholders have rights to a company's assets only after bondholders, preferred shareholders and other debtholders have been paid in full. In the U.K., these are called "ordinary shares". Taobiz explains Common Stock If the company goes bankrupt, the common stockholders will not receive their money until the creditors and preferred shareholders have received their respective share of the leftover assets. This makes common stock riskier than debt or preferred shares. The upside to common shares is that they usually outperform bonds and preferred shares in the long run.
The amount by which inventory on hand is shorter than the amount of inventory recorded. The missing inventory could be due to theft, damage, or book keeping errors.
Income derived from domestic production that qualifies for reduced taxation. More specifically, qualified production activities income is the difference between the manufacturer's domestic gross receipts and aggregate cost of goods and services related to producing the domestic goods. This reduced tax is intended to reward manufacturers for producing goods domestically instead of overseas. |||The IRS mandates that any domestic manufacturer of goods can exclude 6% of all income derived from goods production from income taxation in 2008 and 2009. The tax-free rate for QPAI increases to 9% in 2010. This type of income does not include revenue generated from the restaurant industry, electricity or natural gas production or real estate transactions.