State Representative Brad Halbrook (Shelbyville) filed House Resolution (HR) 44 calling for Congress to repeal the Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirement contained in the federal Corporate Transparency Act.

The law, currently subject to a court injunction, would, if it goes into effect, require small businesses to report their beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The reporting requirement applies to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and less than $5 million in annual sales; larger corporations are excluded from the requirement.

Small businesses would be required to submit their business name, address, jurisdiction, and taxpayer identification number to FinCEN, along with the name, birthday, address, and government identification number for each identified beneficial owner of the business.

If, at any point, any of this information changes (e.g. business moves to a new location or hires a new general manager), the small business would have to file updated information with FinCEN within 30 days.

Failure to comply could result in federal fines of up to $10,000 and up to two years in prison.

The requirement, which for most small businesses was set to go into effect on January 1, 2025, has been subject to numerous legal challenges and is currently subject to a court injunction. NFIB is a plaintiff in a case filed in Texas, Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al., which is working its way through the court process.

Rep. Halbrook’s resolution is a non-binding state-level resolution that urges Congress to take action on an issue important for many small businesses.

On the national level, the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act was recently re-introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The legislation, if passed, would repeal the burdensome beneficial ownership reporting requirements. NFIB supports the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act and urges Congress to quickly pass it.

Take action now and urge Congress to repeal this burdensome governmental overreach. Contact Congress and ask it to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act!