Sole Trader
A Sole Trader is someone who starts up a business on their own. It is the simplest of businesses to set up as there are very little legal formalities, obligations or constraints attached.
An advantage of being a sole trader is that apart from normal tax returns, which every taxable person must make, a sole trader is not required to make any information about their business public.
The downside of being a sole trader is that you have no protection if your business fails. All your assets become available to pay off your creditors. This is called unlimited liability.
Business Name
It is advisable to register the businesses name as a Business Name at the Companies Registration Office so that a sole trader to some limited extent allows the world at large to become aware of an interest in that business name.
A foreign enterprise which establishes a place of business or a branch in Ireland must register its business name under the Registration of Business Names Act, 1963.
A company trading under a name other than its own name must register its trading name on the Register of Business Names.
Registration of a business name affords no protection in respect of the name registered. The Registrar of Business Names does not compare the business name with any mark registered or applied on the Register of Trade Marks, or any company name registered on the Register of Companies, and therefore registration of a business name does not afford any right of priority to or exclusivity of use to any name.
For further information, please contact Malcomson Law by calling 01 874 4422 or by filling out an Online Enquiry Form.