Canadian Business Law/Sole Proprietorship

Sole proprietorship is the most simple and most prevailent type of business. It consists of a single owner who personally undertakes all rights and responsibilities of the business, and has unlimited liability. Effectively, the person running the business is the business itself. There is no separate "entity" and there are no special rights or responsibilities for a sole proprietor beyond those of a normal private citizen.

A sole proproprietor may often be required to register the name of their business under a provincial statute. For example in Nova Scotia the business must register its name under section 4 of the Partnership and Business Names Registation Act.

Features of Sole proprietorship:

• unlimited personal liability
• duration limited to the lifespan of the owner
• income is taxed at the same rate as a private individual