Gōdō gaisha was newly introduced by the Companies Act, which became effective on May 1, 2006.
Basic structure
A GK is formed by articles of incorporation signed between its investors, called members. Each member may provide a capital contribution in the form of money or property. Credit and promises to perform services are not valid consideration for an ownership interest in a GK. Following ratification of the agreement, the GK's articles of incorporation and corporate seal must be registered with the Legal Affairs Bureau. Once the bureau processes the registration, the company may open a bank account, seal contracts, and engage in other activities as a legal entity. The members may, either in the agreement or pursuant to the agreement, choose one or more executive manager from among their ranks. This executive manager can be either an individual or a corporation; however, corporate executive managers must appoint at least one functional manager to perform the actual management duties. The legal duties of GK managers are very similar to the legal duties of KK directors. GK members may sue managers in the same way that KK shareholders may sue directors on the company's behalf. A GK may be converted to a KK with the unanimous consent of all of its members.
Distinguishing characteristics
The following distinguish godo gaisha from kabushiki gaisha:
All members must consent to amendment of the articles of incorporation, unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise.
All members must consent to any transfer of ownership, unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise.
All members are representatives of the company by default, unless managers have been appointed.
Major business decisions may be made informally..
Members may invest any type of asset in exchange for their interest.
Because KKs traditionally required a larger capital and procedural investment, GKs did not initially have the same level of prestige. That has changed with many large foreign companies, including Apple, ExxonMobil, Amazon and Walmart, opting for GKs in Japan.
Taxation
GKs are taxed as corporations under Japanese law: the company's profits are taxed at corporate tax rates, and dividends are taxed at individual tax rates. In late 2005, following the passage of the Companies Act, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry pressed the Ministry of Finance to treat GKs as "pass-through entities" in which only company profits would be taxed. However, the Ministry of Finance refused to allow such treatment. As a result, many new companies are expected to use the more prestigious KK business form rather than the GK business form, especially given the looser regulation of KKs under the new law. The only limited liability business which receives pass-through tax treatment in Japan is the limited liability partnership. Under United States tax law, gōdō gaisha are not classified as corporations, and are therefore eligible to make an entity classification election: a single-member GK may be treated as an extension of its member and a multi-member GK may follow the tax rules for partnerships.
