Capital in United States

Capital Definition

(1) The amount of money invested in a business; the fund dedicated to a business to support its credit, to provide for contingencies, to suffer diminution from losses, and to derive accretion from gains and profits. 30 Fed. 410. As used in the revenue act it does not include money temporarily borrowed. 21 Wall. (U.S.) 284.
(2) The actual estate, whether in money or property, which is owned by an individual or a corporation. In reference to a corporation it is the aggregate of the sum subscribed and paid in by the shareholders, with the addition of all gains or profits realized in the use or investment of those sums. 23 N. Y. 219.
(3) Affecting human life. See Capital Crime; Capital Punishment.

Capital in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias

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Legal Issue for Attorneys

(1) The amount of money invested in a business; the fund dedicated to a business to support its credit, to provide for contingencies, to suffer diminution from losses, and to derive accretion from gains and profits. 30 Fed. 410. As used in the revenue act it does not include money temporarily borrowed. 21 Wall. (U.S.) 284.
(2) The actual estate, whether in money or property, which is owned by an individual or a corporation. In reference to a corporation it is the aggregate of the sum subscribed and paid in by the shareholders, with the addition of all gains or profits realized in the use or investment of those sums. 23 N. Y. 219.
(3) Affecting human life. See Capital Crime; Capital Punishment.

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This definition of Capital is based on The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary. This entry needs to be proofread.

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

In the economic sense, one of the three “factors of production.” The other two are “land” and “labor.” In the accounting sense, the net worth of a business as shown in the capital account of a sole proprietor; the sum of the capital accounts of the partners in a partnership (in U.S. law) business; the sum of the capital stock (see Capital Stock, below) and surplus in a corporation (in U.S. law) . In the legal sense, that portion of the consideration received by the corporation upon the issuance of stock that has been set up on its books as capital in accordance with the laws of the state in which the corporation is organized. It cannot be impaired through the payment of dividends or the acquisition of the corporation’s own stock. In a business sense, actual wealth or assets of a business in money, tangible property such as plant and equipment, or intangible property such as goodwill (in U.S. law), patents, and trademarks. Capital is used synonymously with total assets expressed in monetary forms.

Capital Assets

See Capital Assets here

Capital Gain and Loss

See Capital Gains here

Capital Stock

The aggregate proprietary interest of stockholders in a corporation (in U.S. law). This is not an interest in, or ownership of, any specific assets of the corporation; rather it is the collective ownership of the corporation itself. See also common stock (in U.S. law); preferred stock (in U.S. law); par value stock (in U.S. law); no par stock (in U.S. law); certificate (of Stock) (in U.S. law).

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Capital?

For a meaning of it, read Capital in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Capital.

Capital in the Federal Budget Process

Meaning of Capital in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): Has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used.

Physical capital is land and the stock of products set aside to support future production and consumption. In the National Income and Product Accounts, private capital consists of business inventories, producers’ durable equipment, and residential and nonresidential structures. (See National Income and Product Accounts.) Financial capital is funds raised by governments, individuals, or businesses by incurring liabilities such as bonds, mortgages, or stock certificates. Human capital is the education, training, work experience, and other attributes that enhance the ability of the labor force to produce goods and services.

Capital assets are land, structures, equipment, intellectual property (e.g., software), and information technology (including information technology service contracts) that are used by the federal government and have an estimated useful life of 2 years or more. Capital assets may be acquired in different ways: through purchase, construction, or manufacturing; through a lease-purchase or other capital lease (regardless of whether title has passed to the federal government); through an operating lease for an asset with an estimated useful life of 2 years or more; or through exchange.

Capital assets may or may not be recorded in an entity’s balance sheet under federal accounting standards. Capital assets do not include grants to state and local governments or other entities for acquiring capital assets (such as National Science Foundation grants to universities or Department of Transportation grants to Amtrak), intangible assets (such as the knowledge resulting from research and development), or the human capital resulting from education and training. For more on capital assets, consult the Capital Programming Guide (June 1997), a supplement to OMB Circular No. A-11.

Resources

See Also

• Federal Appropriations
• Entries about the United States Budget Process in the Encyclopedia (including Capital)
• Public Debt

Further Reading

• Legislatures and the budget process: the myth of fiscal control

  (J Wehner, 2010)

• Reconcilable Differences?: Congress, the Budget Process, and the Deficit (JB Gilmour, 1990)
• Fiscal institutions and fiscal performance

  (JM Poterba, J von Hagen, 2008)

Capital in the
International Business Landscape

Definition of Capital in the context of U.S. international business and public trade policy: Produced goods that are used to produce other goods.