ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF A PART OF NET PROFIT IN JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES OF THE STATE SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY

Abstract

The article examines doctrinal issues of distributing net profit in joint-stock companies in which the state’s share in the authorized capital exceeds fifty percent, or constitutes an amount that ensures the state’s right of decisive influence over the economic activities of such companies. Attention is drawn to the fact that both dividends and a portion of net profit have the same economic nature — their source is the company’s net profit. The peculiarities of the legal regime governing the distribution of profits and losses, the accrual, and the payment of dividends or a portion of net profit in business entities with state participation in their authorized capital are determined by mandatory legal provisions. The article emphasizes the purpose of establishing a special procedure for distributing a portion of net profit in business entities with state corporate rights into their authorized capital. This purpose: 1) is directly related to the legislative objectives of managing state-owned property — namely, satisfying state and public needs; 2) is defined by the property/investment interests of the company’s participants. It is noted that dividends (income) accrued on the shares (interests) of business entities with state ownership in their authorized capital are classified as non-tax revenues of the State Budget of Ukraine. The absence of a declaration of will (decision) by the general meeting of shareholders, as the highest governing body of such a company, regarding the payment of dividends, is compensated by an imperative legislative model that guarantees all shareholders (the state as a shareholder and minority shareholders) the realization of their right to participate in the distribution of the company’s net profit and to receive their share thereof, based on the principle of equal treatment of shareholders owning shares of the same type. In this model, the mandatory provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Management of State-Owned Property” and the Law on the State Budget of Ukraine for the relevant year, which establish the obligation and conditions for allocating a portion of profit in the absence of a corresponding decision of the general meeting of shareholders on the accrual and payment of dividends by May 1 of the year following the reporting year, “supersede” the will of the company’s highest governing body and create a corresponding monetary obligation of the company toward the state and minority shareholders to pay them a portion of the company’s net profit in proportion to their participation in the company’s authorized capital.