Abstract
Cooperative banks are often regarded as not-for-profit in accounting contexts today, a view that supports their legal status. De Beneficiis written by Seneca, an Ancient Roman philosopher with advanced knowledge on accounting, gives us hints to examine whether cooperative banks are not-for-profit, especially when his manuscript is read in Classical Latin. One rationale of tax exemption surrounding contemporary NFPs is the virtue of being not-for-profit, especially in relation to gifts. Seneca opposed earning interest from gifts, a thought informed by the virtue of Stoicism. Seneca’s thinking indicates that the existence of dividends decides whether an organization is not-for-profit. Cooperative banks do not appear to be actually not-for-profit, though they contribute to public benefit.
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How to cite this paper
Are Cooperative Banks Not-for-Profit Organizations? A Hint from Seneca
How to cite this paper: Fuminobu Mizutani. (2020) Are Cooperative Banks Not-for-Profit Organizations? A Hint from Seneca. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 4(2), 89-93.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2020.07.001