For example, within the retail category, we have clothing stores, shoe stores, boutiques of all types, bicycle shops, etc. Within the restaurant category, you can choose from full service restaurants to ice cream stores. There may be instances where the seller wants you to be the stock of the corporation he owns, which in turn owns the business. Whatever income the business has is divided up among the owners and the owners file a personal tax return and report their share of the income on their personal tax return. In a C-Corporation, the corporation itself is taxed and then, if the owner takes out money in salary or dividends, he is also taxed.
Tax is paid by the corporation, AND by the owner.
If the owner of the business has the business owned by a C-Corporation, the corporation will pay taxes on the gain on the sale and then, when the money is taken out by the stockholder, he will be taxed again. The sale of the assets of a C-Corporation results in double taxation of the gain. If the owner sells his stock to you, only the gain on the sale of stock is taxed - single taxation. For many reasons, you do not want to purchase a business by buying the stock of the corporation that owns the business. First, the corporation is an entity unto itself and it may have liabilities that you are not aware of.