WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 16, 2025) – Today, National Review published an op-ed from NFIB President Brad Close urging Congress to immediately repeal the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Requirement. Close explains why the government mandate is invasive and unnecessary, and emphasizes the threat of prison time and massive fines for 32 million American small business owners if Congress does not provide permanent relief. 

Close writes: 

“More than 32 million small businesses are staring down the barrel of a gun known as the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Requirement. Under a federal law passed in 2021, our nation’s smallest businesses must file their personal information into yet another newly created federal database. The law says that if they don’t act quickly, they could face up to two years in prison and $10,000 in fines.” 

[…] 

“Small businesses shouldn’t be forced to hand over more personal data to the federal government. They already file plenty of reports with federal agencies, state agencies, and local governments. And the new federal database created by this mandate is a disaster waiting to happen. Multiple federal bureaucracies and law enforcement agencies have access to it without being required to first get a subpoena or warrant, creating a privacy, constitutional, and security nightmare.” 

[…] 

“That’s why the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has fought this mandate from the start. Last December, in a lawsuit we brought on behalf of small businesses, a federal court blocked this rule from being enforced. While the Supreme Court later allowed it to go into effect, in another show of support for small businesses, the Trump administration quickly announced in March that it will not enforce this onerous mandate. Following that, in September, FinCEN announced that by the end of this year, it will destroy the unconstitutionally collected BOI data of America’s small businesses and issue a final rule that would exempt U.S. small businesses from BOI reporting requirements. 

“These major wins for small business owners would not be possible without the Trump administration’s commitment to prioritizing this issue and protecting small businesses. Now, Congress must follow suit. Despite the White House’s quick action, the mandate is still written into federal law. A future administration could easily decide to change course, fining and jailing small business owners. Main Street’s only hope is for Congress to repeal this mandate and remove it from the books forever.” 

Read the full op-ed here.