History Of The LLC
          
          
               The origin of the modern LLC laws allowing limited
          liability companies is in the German law of 1892 which
          created the GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschranker
          Haftung).  In the 60 years which followed, almost 20
          countries adopted similar laws.  In France, for
          example, the same type of company is known as the SARL
          (Societes de Responsabilite Limitee).  In Central and
          South America it is known as the limitada.
               In the U.S., the first state to adopt a modern
          limited liability company statute was Wyoming, on March
          4, 1977.  Florida followed in 1982 by enacting a
          similar statute.  Now, a number of states have either
          enacted similar laws or have legislation pending.  It
          has become the most talked about and most imitated new
          business law in America.  However, the IRS gave no
          assurance that such an entity could qualify to be
          treated as a partnership until September 2, 1988, when
          Revenue Ruling 88-76 was issued.  It was the first
          Revenue Ruling from the IRS regarding LLCs.  In
          February, 1993, the IRS issued four Revenue Rulings
          which describe the classification standards the IRS
          will apply to LLCs who desire partnership tax
          treatment.
               Now that the issue of pass through tax treatment
          has been settled, it is time for the business owner to
          seriously consider this form of entity when forming new
          ventures, and to replace the form he already adopted
          for existing enterprises.  Some lawyers predict that
          the LLC will steadily gain popularity as people become
          educated about its benefits until it will largely
          replace the partnership and the corporation as the
          preferred entity.