3) Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a. A good goal for a firm’s management is maximization of expected EPS
b. Most business in the U.S. is conducted by corporations, and corporations’ popularity
results primarily from their favorable tax treatment
c. Because most stock ownership is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small
segment of society, firms’ actions to maximize their stock prices have little benefit to
society
d. Corporations and partnerships have an advantage over proprietorships because a sole
proprietor is exposed to unlimited liability, but the liability of all investors in the other
types of businesses is more limited
e. The potential exists for agency conflicts between stockholders and managers
4) Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a.The maximum federal tax rate on personal income in 2010 was 50%
b.Since companies can deduct dividends paid but not interest paid, our tax system
favors the use of equity financing over debt financing, and this causes companies’ debt
ratios to be lower than they would be if interest and dividends were both deductible
c.Interest paid to an individual is counted as income for tax purposes and taxed at the
individual’s regular tax rate, which in 2010 could go up to 35%, but dividends received
were taxed at a maximum rate of 15%
d.The maximum federal tax rate on corporate income in 2010 was 50%
e.Corporations obtain capital for use in their operations by borrowing and by raising
equity capital, either by selling new common stock or by retaining earnings. The cost of
debt capital is the interest paid on the debt, and the cost of the equity is the dividends
paid on the stock. Both of these costs are deductible from income when calculating
income for tax purposes
5) Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a.Depreciation and amortization are not cash charges, so neither of them has an effect
on a firm’s reported profits
b.The more depreciation a firm reports, the higher its tax bill, other things held constant
c.People sometimes talk about the firm’s net cash flow, which is shown as the lowest
entry on the income statement, hence it is often called “the bottom line”
d.Depreciation reduces a firm’s cash balance, so an increase in depreciation would
normally lead to a reduction in the firm’s net cash flow
e.Net cash flow (NCF) is often defined as follows