The federal system in the United States allocates government authority between the federal (national) government, the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and a handful of other colonial territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam. The legal enabling environment for cooperative enterprise is similarly divided. Federal government policy is largely exercised through tax law, with favorable and restrictive provisions that define cooperative models nationally. Business entity formation is a matter of state law, which is fragmented and greatly variable among the 52+ jurisdictions.