Business Credit Cards and liability ?
I keep getting these 'Business' credit cards that will put my company name
on them but they want my SSN and want my credit to establish the card, not
the business.
So my question is around liability. If I do one of these cards am I
defeating the protection of the LLC by giving a personal guarantee for a
loan? It seems to me that I am. To go even further, am I opening myself up
for more liability than the transactions that I put on the card?
You are certainly giving up any LLC protection regarding the credit
card. You can try to apply using the LLC's EIN. If that doesn't work and
you go forward with your SSN, ask the issuer to report the payment
history against your EIN so that you build track record. In a year or so
you should be able to get a card under the EIN.
In your "To go even further" question, alter ego can be complex and
depends on the individual circumstances. What's more, the question of
alter ego is answered by a judge (or jury) if and when a complaintant
tries to "pierce the corporate veil". In other words, a discussion of
your potential liability against an alter ego claim is likley outside of
the scope of a NG disucussion. If your personal assets are substnatial,
consult an attorney. Having said that, opening a credit card account
should not be enough by itself to pierce the corporate veil.