Subsidies

In the broadest sense, a subsidy is a grant or other financial assistance given by one party for the support or development of another. However, in a business environment, the kind of subsidies most likely to raise legal and ethical issues are those given by a government or a philanthropic foundation to a person or association for the purpose of promoting an enterprise considered beneficial to a specific subsection of the public or the public in general. A subsidy can be legal, illegal, ethical, or unethical, depending on its effects. The first British subsidies were grants given by Parliament to the King in the Middle Ages to replace taxes formerly collected by the Crown. Now, however, subsidies are granted for reasons such as to keep ...