• 3) Make up an outline of the text in writing.

4.8 LARGO FOODS INVESTS $4M IN NEW PRODUCTION LINE

• 1) Look at the heading and the words from the text and say what it is about: food manufacturer, a new production line, a daughter company, turnover, to employ, higher quality product, to test.

• 2) Look through the text and find:

a) the names of the companies,

b) the cost of a new production line at the main company,

c) largo’s turnover,

d) the number of employed people at Largo,

e) largo’s after-tax profits.

Snack food manufacturer Largo Foods has invested almost $4m in a new production line which will enable the company to double its production levels and boost its profits.

Resulting from the new production facilities, sales at Largo and its daughter company Potato Cuisine are expected almost to double next year.

Largo’s turnover is $20m but the company, which employs 240 people, had been unable to expand further as capacity was limited. The new $3.9m line will increase its turnover and will result in a higher quality product with a lower cost base. Largo’s after-tax profits are thought to be about $1.6m.

The company is currently testing a new snack and is working with a partner to develop the machinery needed to produce the new range. “Nobody else is doing this, we are leading the market,” Managing Director said.

• 3) Answer the questions:

a) How will the new production facilities affect the sales at Largo and its daughter company?

b) What will be other benefits from the new production facilities?

c) What is the company doing now?

• 4) Read and translate the text into Russian in writing.

4.9 Business organizations

• 1) What business organizations do you know? Do you work in one of them, by any chance? What kind of business organization is it?

• 2) The writer uses the following words and word combinations in the text: proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, accountant, lawyer, corporation, unlimited lifetime, stock, to own, a legal entity, responsible for, profits, shareholder. What do they mean?

Businesses are structured to meet different needs. One basic difference involves who is responsible for the business. Another involves how long the organization can stay in business. The following is a report about ways that businesses are organized under United States tax law.

The simplest form of business is called an individual proprietorship. The proprietor owns all the property of the business and is responsible for it. This means the proprietor receives all the profits. But this also means that the proprietor is responsible for all the debts of the business. Also, any legal action against an individual proprietorship is taken against the owner. The law recognizes no difference between the owner and the business.

Most small businesses in the United States are individual proprietorships. There are more than twelve-million of them. United States tax law has simpler reporting requirements for these kinds of businesses. One person may be able to complete all the tax documents required.

Another kind of business is the partnership. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to state how much of the partnership each person controls. They can end the partnership at any time.

But partnerships and individual proprietorships have a limited life. They exist only as long as the owners are alive. Some states permit what are called limited liability partnerships. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits. But their responsibilities to the organization are also limited.

A partnership is often called a pass-through entity: money passes through it to the individual partners. The federal government does not tax partnerships. But the partners are taxed on the payments they receive.

Doctors, lawyers and accountants often form partnerships to share the profits and risks of doing businesses. A husband and wife can form a business partnership. The Census Bureau says there are more than one-million American partnerships. Partnerships and individual proprietorships are usually small business organizations. Next week, we discuss a bigger kind: the corporation.

These are the ways many small businesses are organized.

If to speak about the structure of big business, the most complex is the corporation. This kind of business organization is designed to have an unlimited lifetime. Investors in a corporation own stock. This is a share of the ownership. Investors can trade their shares or keep them as long as the company is in business. Investors may get paid dividends, a small amount of money for each share they own.

A corporation is a legal entity, a being separate from its owners. Shareholders are not responsible for the debts of the corporation. Shareholders can only lose the money they invest in stock. The corporation itself is responsible for its debts.

A board of directors controls the corporate policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold any shares in the corporation.

United States tax law recognizes two general kinds of corporations. The first is known as the corporation. Corporations were the only kind for many years. Most pay taxes on their profits. Shareholders also pay taxes on dividends they receive. Some people call this “double taxation.”