The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which was signed into law back in 2021 as an anti-money laundering initiative, required domestic entities to disclose the identity of their Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI). If you’ll remember, this turned into a legal and political football.
First of all, no one wanted to do it. And given the 155M small businesses that exist in the US, it would probably never be complied with to any real extent and in any way successful.
Finding a few small businesses that are financing international terror organizations when only a fraction of all small businesses in the US actually complied would probably have turned into yet another useless government endeavor wasting tax dollars as well as the time and resources of entrepreneurs.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which administered BOI reporting under the CTA, issued an interim rule in March that removed the requirement for U.S. companies and persons to report BOI. But 16M businesses (like mine) and other individuals provided their sensitive information, prior to this nightmare ending.
Over 100 business associations have now urged the Treasury Department to destroy the BOI records that domestic companies no longer must file, saying that the retention of the records no longer serves a legitimate purpose. “These beneficial owners’ sensitive personal information, including their names, addresses, and passport or driver’s license numbers, remains in a database managed by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, exposing them to ongoing cybersecurity and unauthorized disclosure risks,” the letter said.
The 101 signatories represent “millions of Main Street business,” said the letter which was initiated by the Main Street Employers Coalition. The coalition includes the National Small Business Association, and the National Federation of Independent Business, which sued separately to end the BOI reporting requirements.
The associations urged Bessent to act quickly, especially in light of what they said are 12 federal cases challenging the validity of the CTA, including the NSBA case that is headed to the Supreme Court. “Given this legal uncertainty and the fact that domestic businesses are no longer subject to the CTA’s reporting requirements, the continued retention of their data serves no legitimate government purpose,” the letter said.
“The longer the Treasury Department delays, the greater the risk there will be misuse of this sensitive information,” also said the letter. “Main Street businesses deserve certainty and to know their personal information will not be ‘warehoused’ indefinitely awaiting a new administration and a change in policy.”
Let me leave you with this…
We can only hope that the Treasury Department will act quickly on these requests. The ongoing legal battles do nothing but continue to waste taxpayer dollars.
But the continued retention of the sensitive data is the real risk.
For those of us who complied, that data in the wrong hands would be quite detrimental. If it isn’t destroyed before another administration takes over, this whole fiasco could begin again.
As always, if you’re having trouble with your accounting and tax work, I’m waiting for your call.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
Accounting Solutions Ltd. stands ready to complete our mission and purpose of protecting you, your family, and your business. Whether you need Payroll Services, or Accounting and Tax Work, you have but to ask. I’m here and I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Chris Amundson
President
Accounting Solutions Ltd.
773-267-7500
888-310-0300
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