Suppose a group of friends randomly decide to start a corporation and do nothing but have meetings and file paperwork, because they enjoy meetings and paperwork. While this isn't something most people would want to do "just for fun", is it legal?
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1 Answer
A business must be incorporated for a legal purpose (reason), and that reason must be stated when the business is registered; but that purpose can be to be incorporated and exist as a business.
It's common for businesses to be registered "for the purpose of conducting lawful business."
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Would something like "for the purpose of providing experience with the legal requirements for creating, owning, and operating a corporation" be a valid reason?– SomeoneAug 9, 2022 at 7:39
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3It's extremely common for corporate bylaws in the US to be expressed in terms of "to engage in any lawful business" or similar. If you create a corporation "to develop the cheapest blood pressure meter this side of the Ozarks", once you either accomplish your goal or decide on a better one, your corporation no longer has a legal reason to exist and needs to be wound down. Save the goals for your vision statement. Aug 9, 2022 at 9:55
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Be advised that if you business is not profitable, you are not trying to make it profitable, and is not viewed as some form of legitimate not-for-profit business, it could be categorized as a hobby rather than a business which changes how losses can be treated for tax purposes. This seems to apply to an S-Corp every bit as much as an unincorporated individual, but C-Corps look like they may de different. Aug 9, 2022 at 19:04
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@KevinCathcart Now you're talking about a situation where someone is trying to obfuscate personal expenses and business losses for tax purposes; that's an explicitly illegal reason for a business function.– MichaelAug 9, 2022 at 19:07