This document summarizes key concepts from Chapter 2 of the 13th edition of the textbook "Fundamentals of Financial Management" by Van Horne and Wachowicz. It discusses the four main forms of business organization in the US (sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, LLCs), how to calculate corporate taxable income and rates, methods of depreciation including straight-line and MACRS, and how debt financing provides a tax advantage over equity financing through interest tax deductibility.

1. 2.1 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Chapter 2
The Business, Tax,
and Financial
Environments

2. 2.2 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
After studying Chapter 2,
you should be able to:
1. Describe the four basic forms of business organization in the
United States – and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
2. Understand how to calculate a corporation's taxable income and
how to determine the corporate tax rate - both average and
marginal.
3. Understand various methods of depreciation.
4. Understand why acquiring assets through the use of debt
financing offers a tax advantage over both common and
preferred stock financing.
5. Describe the purpose and make up of financial markets.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of how letter ratings of the major
rating agencies help you to judge a security’s default risk.
7. Understand what is meant by the term “term structure of interest
rates” and relate it to a “yield curve.”

3. 2.3 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
The Business, Tax, and
Financial Environments
• The Business Environment
• The Tax Environment
• The Financial Environment

4. 2.4 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
The Business
Environment
• Sole Proprietorships
• Partnerships (general and limited)
• Corporations
• Limited liability companies
The US has four basic forms of
business organization:

5. 2.5 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
The Business
Environment
• Oldest form of business organization.
• Business income is accounted for on
your personal income tax form.
Sole Proprietorship – A business
form for which there is one owner.
This single owner has unlimited
liability for all debts of the firm.

6. 2.6 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Summary for
Sole Proprietorship
Advantages
• Simplicity
• Low setup cost
• Quick setup
• Single tax filing
on individual form
Disadvantages
• Unlimited liability
• Hard to raise
additional capital
• Transfer of
ownership
difficulties

7. 2.7 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
The Business
Environment
• Business income is accounted
for on each partner’s personal
income tax form.
Partnership – A business form in
which two or more individuals
act as owners.

8. 2.8 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Types of Partnerships
Limited Partnership – limited partners
have liability limited to their capital
contribution (investors only). At least
one general partner is required and all
general partners have unlimited liability.
General Partnership – all partners have
unlimited liability and are liable for all
obligations of the partnership.

9. 2.9 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Summary for Partnership
Advantages
• Can be simple
• Low setup cost, higher
than sole
proprietorship
• Relatively quick setup
• Limited liability for
limited partners
Disadvantages
• Unlimited liability for
the general partner
• Difficult to raise
additional capital, but
easier than sole
proprietorship
• Transfer of ownership
difficulties

10. 2.10 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
The Business
Environment
• An artificial entity that can own
assets and incur liabilities.
• Business income is accounted for
on the income tax form of the
corporation.
Corporation – A business form
legally separate from its owners.

11. 2.11 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Summary for Corporation
Advantages
• Limited liability
• Easy transfer of
ownership
• Unlimited life
• Easier to raise large
quantities of capital
Disadvantages
• Double taxation
• More difficult to
establish
• More expensive
to set up and
maintain

12. 2.12 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
The Business
Environment
• Business income is accounted for on
each “member’s” individual income
tax form.
Limited Liability Companies – A
business form that provides its owners
(called “members”) with corporate-
style limited personal liability and the
federal-tax treatment of a partnership.

13. 2.13 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Limited Liability
Company (LLC)
• Limited liability
• Centralized management
• Unlimited life
• Transfer of ownership without other owners’
prior consent
Generally, an LLC will possess only the
first two of the following four standard
corporation characteristics

14. 2.14 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Summary for LLC
Advantages
• Limited liability
• Eliminates double
taxation
• No restriction on
number or type of
owners
• Easier to raise
additional capital
Disadvantages
• Limited life
(generally)
• Transfer of
ownership
difficulties
(generally)

15. 2.15 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Corp. Taxable Income Tax
At Least But < Rate Tax Calculation
$ 0 $ 50,000 15% 0.15x(Inc > 0)
50,000 75,000 25% $ 7,500 + 0.25x(Inc > 50,000)
75,000 100,000 34% 13,750 + 0.34x(Inc > 75,000)
100,000 335,000 39% 22,250 + 0.39x(Inc > 100,000)
335,000 10,000,000 34% 113,900 + 0.34x(Inc > 335,000)
10,000,000 15,000,000 35% 3,400,000 + 0.35x(Inc > 10,000,000)
15,000,000 18,333,333 38% 5,150,000 + 0.38x(Inc > 15,000,000)
18,333,333 35% 6,416,667 + 0.35x(Inc > 18,333,333)
Corporate Income Taxes

16. 2.16 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Income Tax Example
Lisa Miller of Basket Wonders
(BW) is calculating the income tax
liability, marginal tax rate, and
average tax rate for the fiscal year
ending December 31.
BW’s corporate taxable income for
this fiscal year was $250,000.

17. 2.17 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Income Tax Example
Marginal tax rate = 39%
Average tax rate = $80,750 / $250,000
= 32.3%
Income tax liability
= $22,250 + 0.39 × ($250,000 – $100,000)
= $22,250 + $58,500
= $80,750
Also solve in Excel! – VW13E-02b.xlsx

18. 2.18 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Depreciation
• Generally, profitable firms prefer to use
an accelerated method for tax
reporting purposes.
Depreciation represents the
systematic allocation of the cost of
a capital asset over a period of time
for financial reporting purposes, tax
purposes, or both.

19. 2.19 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Common Types of
Depreciation
• Straight-line (SL)
• Accelerated Types
• Double Declining Balance
(DDB)
• Modified Accelerated Cost
Recovery System (MACRS)

20. 2.20 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Depreciation Example
Lisa Miller of Basket Wonders (BW) is
calculating the depreciation on a machine
with a depreciable basis of $100,000, a 6-
year useful life, and a 5-year property
class life.
She calculates the annual depreciation
charges using MACRS. [Note – ignore
“bonus” depreciation discussed in 2–25]

21. 2.21 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
MACRS Example
• Assets are depreciated based on one
of eight different property classes.
• Generally, the half-year convention is
used.
• Depreciation in any particular year is
the maximum of DDB or straight-line.
A switch in depreciation methods is
made from DDB to SL during the life
of the asset.

22. 2.22 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Depreciation Depreciation Net Book
Year Calculation Charge Value
0 --- --- $100,000
1 0.5X2X(1/5) X $100,000 $ 20,000 80,000
2 2 X ( 1 / 5) X $80,000 32,000 48,000
3 2 X ( 1 / 5) X $48,000 19,200 28,800
4 $28,800 / 2.5 Years 11,520 17,280
5 $28,800 / 2.5 Years 11,520 5,760
6 $28,800 / 2.5 Yrs X 0.5 5,760 0
MACRS Example

23. 2.23 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
MACRS Schedule
Recovery Property Class
Year 3-Year 5-Year 7-Year
1 33.33% 20.00% 14.29%
2 44.45 32.00 24.49
3 14.81 19.20 17.49
4 7.41 11.52 12.49
5 11.52 8.93
6 5.76 8.92
7 8.93
8 4.46

24. 2.24 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Economic Stimulus Act
(ESA) of 2008
Signed by President Bush, May 2008 – Temporary
• Allowed additional first year depreciation
equal to 50% of the original “adjusted
(depreciable) basis”
• Eligible property with a life of 20 years or
less
• Purchased and placed in service in 2008
• Can opt “out” if desirable to business

25. 2.25 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Economic Stimulus Act (ESA)
of 2008 (Example)
Assume purchase in service on July 8, 2008
• Example:
• Utilize half-year convention and 5–year MACRS
property class for a $200,000 machine
• Bonus = 50% of $200,000 = $100,000.
• Remaining $100,000 ($200K – $100K bonus above) at
20% rate based on MACRS is $20,000.
• Result is $120,000 ($100,000 + $20,000) depreciation
charge in the first year.
• Temporary (2008 only), so will ignore in subsequent
examples as well as ignored in slide 2-20 example.

26. 2.26 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Other Tax Issues
Quarterly Tax Payments require
corporations to pay 25% of their
estimated annual tax liability on the 15th
of April, June, September, and December.
Alternative Minimum Tax is a special tax
which equals 20% of alternative minimum
taxable income (generally not equal to
taxable income). Corporations pay the
maximum of AMT or regular tax liability.

27. 2.27 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Interest Deductibility
Interest Expense is the interest paid on
outstanding debt and is tax deductible.
Cash Dividend is the cash distribution of
earnings to shareholders and is not a tax
deductible expense.
The after-tax cost of debt is:
(Interest Expense) X ( 1 – Tax Rate)
Thus, debt financing has a tax advantage!

28. 2.28 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Handling Corporate
Losses and Gains
• Losses are generally carried back
first and then forward starting with
the earliest year with operating gains.
• Corporations that sustain a net
operating loss can carry that loss
back (Carryback) 2 years and forward
(Carryforward) 20 years to offset
operating gains in those years.

29. 2.29 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Corporate Losses
and Gains Example
Lisa Miller is examining the impact of
an operating loss at Basket Wonders
(BW) in 2003. The following time line
shows operating income and losses.
What impact does the 2007 loss have
on BW?
–$500,000
$100,000
$150,000
$150,000
2007
2006
2005
2004

30. 2.30 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Corporate Losses
and Gains Example
The loss can offset the gain in each of the
years 2005 and 2006. The remaining $250,000
can be carried forward to 2008 or beyond.
Impact: Tax refund for federal taxes
paid in 2005 and 2006.
–$500,000
$100,000
$150,000
$150,000
2007
2006
2005
2004
–$150,000 –$100,000 $250,000
$150,000 0
0 –$250,000

31. 2.31 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Corporate Capital
Gains / Losses
• Often historically, capital gains income
has received more favorable US tax
treatment than operating income.
• Generally, the sale of a “capital asset”
(as defined by the IRS) generates a
capital gain (asset sells for more than
original cost) or capital loss (asset
sells for less than original cost).

32. 2.32 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Corporate Capital
Gains / Losses
• Capital losses are deductible
only against capital gains.
• Currently, capital gains are taxed
at ordinary income tax rates for
corporations, or a maximum 35%.

33. 2.33 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Personal Income Taxes
• The US has a progressive tax structure with four
tax brackets of 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and
35%.
• The current maximum cash dividend (most) and
capital gains tax rates is 15%.
• Personal income taxes are determined by
taxable income, filing status, and various
credits.
• Result is that low income individuals pay no
federal tax and others may fluctuate between the
marginal rates.

34. 2.34 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Financial Environment
• Businesses interact continually with
the financial markets.
• Financial Markets are composed of all
institutions and procedures for
bringing buyers and sellers of financial
instruments together.
• The purpose of financial markets is to
efficiently allocate savings to ultimate
users.

35. 2.35 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
INVESTMENT SECTOR
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET

36. 2.36 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
INVESTMENT
SECTOR
Businesses
Government
Households
INVESTMENT SECTOR

37. 2.37 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
SAVINGS
SECTOR
Households
Businesses
Government
INVESTMENT SECTOR

38. 2.38 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
FINANCIAL
BROKERS
Investment
Bankers
Mortgage
Bankers
INVESTMENT SECTOR

39. 2.39 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
Commercial Banks
Savings Institutions
Insurance Cos.
Pension Funds
Finance Companies
Mutual Funds
INVESTMENT SECTOR

40. 2.40 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
SECONDARY
MARKET
Security
Exchanges
OTC
Market
INVESTMENT SECTOR

41. 2.41 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Allocation of Funds
• In a rational world, the highest expected
returns will be offered only by those
economic units with the most promising
investment opportunities.
• Result: Savings tend to be allocated to the
most efficient uses.
• Funds will flow to economic units that are
willing to provide the greatest expected
return (holding risk constant).

42. 2.42 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Risk-Expected
Return Profile
RISK
EXPECTED
RETURN
(%)
US Treasury Bills (risk-free securities)
Prime-grade Commercial Paper
Long-term Government Bonds
Investment-grade Corporate Bonds
Medium-grade Corporate Bonds
Preferred Stocks
Conservative Common Stocks
Speculative Common Stocks

43. 2.43 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
What Influences Security
Expected Returns?
• Marketability is the ability to sell
a significant volume of securities
in a short period of time in the
secondary market without
significant price concession.
• Default Risk is the failure to meet
the terms of a contract.

44. 2.44 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Ratings by Investment
Agencies on Default Risk
MOODY’S INV SERVICE STANDARD & POOR’S
Aaa Best Quality AAA Highest Grade
Aa High Quality AA High Grade
A Upper Med Grade A Higher Med Grade
Baa Medium Grade BBB Medium Grade
Ba Possess Speculative
Elements
BB Speculative
C Lowest Grade D In Payment Default
Investment grade represents the top four categories.
Below investment grade represents all other categories.

45. 2.45 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
What Influences Expected
Security Returns?
• Taxability considers the expected
tax consequences of the security.
• Maturity is concerned with the life
of the security; the amount of time
before the principal amount of a
security becomes due.

46. 2.46 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
Term Structure of
Interest Rates
A yield curve is a graph of the relationship between
yields and term to maturity for particular securities.
Upward Sloping Yield Curve
Downward Sloping Yield Curve
0
2
4
6
8
10
YIELD
(%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
(Usual)
(Unusual)
YEARS TO MATURITY

47. 2.47 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
US Treasury Yield Curve
(4 / 16 / 2008)
This yield curve is the relationship of US Treasuries
effective April 16, 2008 (see VW13E–02.xlsx).
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
YTM
U.S. Treasury Maturity
4/16/2008

48. 2.48 Van Horne and Wachowicz, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 13th edition. © Pearson Education Limited 2009. Created by Gregory Kuhlemeyer.
What Influences Expected
Security Returns?
• Inflation is a rise in the average
level of prices of goods and
services. The greater inflation
expectations, then the greater the
expected return.
• Embedded Options provide the
opportunity to change specific
attributes of the security.