Tag: Beneficial Ownership & the Corporate Transparency Act

Business Coalition Urges Congress to Delay Implementation of Beneficial Ownership Rules

Posted on by Scott Sherwood

The Real Estate Roundtable joined more than 120 other national business organizations in a letter this week that urged Senate Banking Committee leaders to support a one-year filing delay for new beneficial ownership regulation requirements, which took effect Jan. 1 under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). (Coalition letter, March 19)

CTA Delay Bills

  • The CTA impacts more than 32 million existing entities and an additional 5 million newly created entities every year. These companies and other legal entities face increased paperwork, privacy risks, and potentially devastating fines and prison terms. (New York Times, March 4)
  • Companion legislation in the House (H.R. 5119), introduced by Reps. Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Joyce Beatty (D-OH), passed by a vote of 420-1 on December 12, 2023.
  • Initial filings under the CTA began more than two months ago in accordance with the new law, yet fewer than 2 percent of covered entities have submitted their required information to FinCEN. One reason for this low compliance rate is that most business owners are ignorant of the new law. A one-year delay would provide the business community and FinCEN additional time to educate millions of small business owners about the new reporting requirements and its onerous penalties.

Legal Challenge

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
  • This week’s coalition letter also explains that a one-year delay would accommodate the time it will take for a March 1 District court decision, which ruled the CTA regulations as unconstitutional, to work its way through Appellate and Supreme Courts. (Roundtable Weekly, March 8)
  • The ruling earlier this month from the District Court for the Northern District of Alabama was narrow, applying only to National Small Business Association (NSBA) member plaintiffs named in the case. As a result, non-NSBA firms should continue to comply with the CTA pending further developments. (FinCEN’s current requirements) 
  • The March 19 letter to the Senate Banking Committee states, “It is obvious more time is needed. Congress did not enact the CTA in order to turn millions of law-abiding small business owners into felons.”
  • The Roundtable has consistently opposed the beneficial ownership rules. We continue to work with policymakers to identify a balanced position that would inhibit illicit money laundering activity but does not place unnecessary costs and legal burdens on the real estate industry. (Coalition letter, Nov. 2023)

The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Advisory Committee (RECPAC) will continue to monitor legislative and legal developments as they impact beneficial ownership requirements.

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Treasury Collection of Beneficial Ownership Information is Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal District Court Judge

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Beneficial ownership regulations that took effect Jan. 1 under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) were ruled unconstitutional on March 1 by a federal District Court judge, who sided with claims by the National Small Business Association against the U.S. Treasury Department. The Roundtable has strongly supported NSBA’s legal challenge. (NSBA v. Janet Yellen ruling and NSBA’s website on the CTA | Industry coalition support of NSBA law suit, Dec. 7, 2022)

Impact of Ruling

  • Alabama Judge Liles Burke’s ruling applies only to the NSBA and its members, although the court’s decision likely paves the way for further challenges to the CTA.
  • FinCEN issued a statement on March 4 that it will “comply with the court’s order for as long as it remains in effect” and will not enforce the CTA against the named plaintiffs in the case. What goes unsaid is that FinCEN intends to continue enforcement of the CTA against non-parties while the case works its way through the federal court system. As a result, firms should continue to comply with the CTA absent further developments. (See FinCEN’s current requirements) 
  • NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken on March 5 stated, “FinCEN should immediately reverse course and suspend enforcement of the CTA for all until these issues are finally resolved.” Appeals of the NASB ruling could take months or years. (BGov, March 5) 

CTA’s Onerous Requirements

Treasury Department's FinCEN logo
  • The CTA amended the Bank Secrecy Act to require corporations, limited liability companies, and similar entities to report certain information about “beneficial owners” who own at least 25% of an entity or indirectly exercise “substantial control” over it. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 15, 2023)
  • The CTA authorized the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to collect and disclose beneficial ownership information to authorized government authorities and financial institutions. The statute also mandated the submission of regular reports by the end of 2024 that includea litany of sensitive personal identifiers of the owners, senior employees, and/or advisors of covered entities. (FinCEN’s current requirements)   
  • The law directly impacts more than 32 million existing entities and an additional 5 million newly created entities every year. These companies and other legal entities face increased paperwork, privacy risks, and potentially devastating fines and prison terms. (New York Times, March 4)
  • The CTA rules subject many real estate businesses to a heavier compliance burden at a time when the industry faces economic challenges from decreasing office usage and diminishing credit capacity. 

Roundtable Opposition

  • The Roundtable has consistently opposed the beneficial ownership rules. In Nov. 2023, The Roundtable and a broad coalition of approximately 70 business groups urged Congress to pass a one-year delay in implementing the burdensome reporting requirements. (Coalition letter and PoliticoPro, Nov. 16)
  • In Feb. 2022, The Roundtable joined nine other national real estate industry organizations in detailed comments to FinCEN about the negative impact of the proposed beneficial ownership regulations on real estate transactions.  

The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Advisory Committee (RECPAC) will continue to monitor developments related to beneficial ownership requirements and legal outcomes.

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Roundtable and Industry Coalition Urge Treasury to Delay January Implementation of Beneficial Ownership Rules

Posted on by Scott Sherwood

The Real Estate Roundtable and a coalition of eight other national real estate groups on Oct. 13 urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to delay implementation of new “beneficial ownership” rules, which will significantly impact real estate. The new regulations—scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024 under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)—would be implemented by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). (Coalition letter, Oct. 13)

BOIR Proposal

  • Many real estate businesses will face a heavier compliance burden at a time when the industry faces economic challenges from decreasing office usage, and diminishing credit capacity. The businesses impacted could include numerous legal entities that own and operate real property across all asset classes as domestic corporations, LLCs and similar entities, along with foreign entities registered to do business in the United States.
  • FinCEN will be tasked with collecting and housing a centralized federal government database containing extensive, sensitive personal identifiers of the owners, senior employees, and/or advisors of certain businesses. Those entities will be required to report information about their “beneficial owners” who own at least 25% of the business or indirectly exercise “substantial control” over it. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 15)
  • On Sept. 27, FinCEN proposed a minor change to the current 30-day deadline for filing an initial Beneficial Ownership Information Return (BOIR). The proposal would extend the deadline to 90 days for reporting companies that were created or registered on or after Jan. 1, 2024 and before Jan. 1, 2025. No other changes were made to the final beneficial ownership reporting rule (Holland & Knight Alert, Sept. 28)

Opposition to CTA

  • House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), above, has introduced legislation—the Protecting Small Business Information Act of 2023 (H.R. 4035)—that would delay when the CTA’s beneficial ownership reporting requirements would go into effect. (McHenry news release, June 12)
  • The Roundtable and a broad coalition representing millions of businesses throughout the country wrote to Chairman McHenry last month in strong support of his legislation. (Coalition letter, Sept 12)

The Roundtable is part of a broad coalition of business trade groups that supports a National Small Business Association legal challenge (NSBA v. Janet Yellen) on the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which became law in Jan. 2021. (Coalition statement of support, Dec. 7, 2022 and NSBA’s website on the CTA)

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Roundtable and Broad Coalition Support Legislation to Delay CTA Reporting Requirements

Posted on by Scott Sherwood

The Roundtable and a broad coalition representing millions of businesses throughout the country wrote to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), above, this week in strong support of his legislation—the Protecting Small Business Information Act of 2023 (H.R. 4035). McHenry’s bill would delay the date when the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) beneficial ownership reporting requirements go into effect, currently scheduled for Jan. 1, 2024. (Coalition letter, Sept 12 and McHenry news release, June 12)

CRE Impact

  • There is significant concern about the CTA’s far-reaching scope and its impact on many commercial residential real estate businesses that use the LLC structure for conducting business. The coalition’s letter states that Chairman McHenry’s bill “legislation offers a commonsense solution to this pending regulatory trainwreck.”
  • The CTA amended the Bank Secrecy Act to require corporations, limited liability companies, and similar entities to report certain information about “beneficial owners” who own at least 25% of an entity or indirectly exercise “substantial control” over it.
  • The CTA authorizes the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to collect and disclose beneficial ownership information to authorized government authorities and financial institutions, subject to effective safeguards and controls. The statute requires the submission of regular reports to the federal government that include a litany of sensitive personal identifiers of the owners, senior employees, and/or advisors of covered entities.

CTA Rule Burdens

FinCEN logo
  • The coalition notes that the rule will cover over 32 million existing entities and an additional 5 million newly-created entities every year. These companies and other legal entities could be subjected to increased paperwork, privacy risks, and potentially devastating fines and prison terms.
  • The CTA also applies only to businesses with under $5 million in annual revenues and fewer than 20 employees, thus ensuring that the very companies who can least afford the costs associated with compliance are the ones targeted.
  • Additionally, the coalition emphasizes that despite a looming effective date of January 1, 2023, FinCEN regulators have not finalized the “Access Rule,” which specifies who can access the database and for what purposes, nor an updated “Customer Due Diligence Rule” that applies to financial institutions. Regulators have not laid out a clear plan for engaging millions of affected businesses to convey upcoming responsibilities.
  • In April, bipartisan groups of House and Senate policymakers urged FinCEN to amend the proposed beneficial ownership reporting and access rules, contending certain provisions do not follow congressional intent. (Reuters, April 5)
  • Rep. McHenry, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and a bipartisan, bicameral group of congressional lawmakers requested that FinCEN amend the proposed beneficial ownership rule to adhere to congressional intent and ensure reporting companies cannot avoid transparency. (Congressional letter, April 3)

The Roundtable is also part of a broad coalition of business trade groups that supports a National Small Business Association legal challenge (NSBA v. Janet Yellen) on the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which became law in Jan. 2021. (Coalition statement of support, Dec. 7, 2022 and NSBA’s website on the CTA)

Policymakers Urge Treasury to Amend Proposed Beneficial Ownership Rule

Posted on by Trey Jackson
Capitol building

Bipartisan groups of House and Senate policymakers recently sent letters urging Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to amend proposed beneficial ownership reporting and access rules, contending certain provisions do not follow congressional intent. (BGov, April 4 and Reuters, April 5)

House “Escape Hatch” Modification

  • Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and a bipartisan, bicameral group of congressional  lawmakers sent a letter on April 3 to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das about the Treasury Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on beneficial ownership information reporting requirements. (Roundtable Weekly, May 7, 2021)

  • The lawmakers requested that FinCEN amend the proposed rule to adhere to congressional intent and ensure reporting companies cannot avoid transparency.

  • The bipartisan letter states that the NPRM has an “escape hatch” that must be modified. Specifically, the policymakers requested that language allowing reporting parties to enter “Unable to identify…unable to obtain” or “Unknown…not able to obtain” be struck from the proposed rule.

  • “Allowing these options in any final rule will degrade the benefits of the registry to law enforcement and to financial institutions and provide an opportunity for bad actors to obscure the identity of the company applicant or beneficial owner,” according to the letter.

Senate Requests

  • A group of six bipartisan Senators also submitted a letter to FinCEN’s Das on March 15 requesting revisions to the beneficial ownership rule. The policymakers requested that the rule (1) track closer to the text of the congressional statute; (2) enhance the utility of a beneficial ownership information (BOI) directory for financial institutions; and (3) remove excessive barriers to accessing the directory by authorized recipients.

  • The Senators’ letter states, “Once the database is live, financial institutions across the country will immediately begin requesting access to BOI for the 32 million reporting companies in the country. It is essential that FinCEN establish an automated process (ideally one that integrates with existing compliance systems at financial institutions) for fielding and responding to these requests.” (Reuters, April 5)

Proposed FinCEN Rules

FINCEN website
  • The CTA amended the Bank Secrecy Act to require corporations, limited liability companies, and similar entities to report certain information about their beneficial owners (the individual natural persons who ultimately own or control the companies).

  • The Roundtable and three other national real estate organizations also submitted detailed comments to FinCEN on May 5, 2021 addressing several implementation concerns related to the beneficial ownership registry. (Roundtable Weekly, May 7, 2021)

  • The coalition document addressed several specific implementation issues, including how small companies targeted by the CTA will face compliance burdens—and the time-consuming and challenging process of gathering required information on all beneficial owners of a reporting company that may have been created years ago.

FinCEN’s BOI directory is scheduled to be operational on January 1, 2024. All guidance material will be made available on FinCEN’s beneficial ownership webpage.

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Treasury Issues Proposed Beneficial Ownership Regulations on Info Retention and Disclosure

Posted on by Trey Jackson
Treasury Building bright blue sky

The Treasury Department issued a set of proposed rules this month that address how government officials could access information about the “beneficial owners” of most corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States. (Fact Sheet, Dec. 15 and Federal Register, Dec. 16)

Proposed FinCEN Rules

  • The Dec. 15 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) follows a final beneficial ownership rule issued on Sept. 30. The previous rule requires millions of companies to report information about their beneficial owners—persons who own at least 25% of a company or exert significant authority over it—to FinCEN. (Final Rule | Fact Sheet | Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 30)
  • The Roundtable and three other national real estate organizations submitted detailed comments to FinCEN on May 5, 2021 addressing several implementation concerns related to the beneficial ownership registry. (Roundtable Weekly, May 7)
  • FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das said, “The beneficial ownership information reporting rule finalized earlier this year is a major step forward in unmasking shell companies and protecting the U.S. financial system from abuse by money launderers, drug traffickers, sanctioned oligarchs, and other criminals.”
  • “In this next step, the proposed rule would provide the highest standards of security and confidentiality while ensuring that the new beneficial ownership database is highly useful to law enforcement agencies in its efforts to combat financial crime.” Das added, “As we drive toward full implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act, we move closer to exposing criminals, corrupt actors, and anyone trying to hide ill-gotten gains in the United States.” (Treasury news release and FinCEN Fact Sheet, Dec. 15)

House Republican Opposition

Rep. Patrick McHenry
  • The Chairman-elect of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (R-NC), above, raised concerns about the proposed regulations, stating that protecting Americans’ financial privacy will be a top priority of Committee Republicans’ oversight and legislative initiatives next Congress. (McHenry news release, Dec. 15)
  • “Today’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by FinCEN does not prioritize Americans’ financial privacy in the way Congress intended,” McHenry said. “FinCEN must include the appropriate protections to prevent unauthorized access and use of the sensitive information collected under this new regime. Until we see a real effort to protect this confidential information, Republicans remain concerned about FinCEN’s commitment to privacy and civil liberties.”

Corporate Transparency Act

  • This month’s proposed set of rules addresses provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which became law in Jan. 2021, and target tax fraud, terrorism financing, and money laundering. (Tax Notes, Dec. 16)
  • The Roundtable is part of a broad coalition of business trade groups that supports a legal challenge by the National Small Business Association (NSBA v. Janet Yellen), which challenges the constitutionality of the CTA. (Coalition statement of support, Dec. 7 and NSBA’s website on the CTA)
  • The coalition stated, “It is clear whatever marginal benefit the CTA affords law enforcement will be far outweighed by the costs borne by small businesses and their owners.”
  • The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC) will continue to work with industry partners to address the implications of FinCEN’s proposed rules and the impact it could have on capital formation and the commercial real estate industry. Written comments on the NPRM are due by Feb. 14, 2023.

RECPAC will meet on Jan. 24, 2023 in conjunction with The Roundtable’s State of the Industry Meeting in Washington.

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Treasury Issues Final Rule Requiring Disclosure of “Beneficial Owners”

Posted on by Trey Jackson
FinCEN logo

The Treasury Department issued a final rule yesterday that will require millions of companies to report information about their “beneficial owners”—persons who own at least 25% of a company or exert significant authority over it—to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). (Final Rule | Fact Sheet | Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Law, Sept. 29) 

Who Reports? 

  • Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “This rule … will help strengthen our national security by making it more difficult for oligarchs, terrorists, and other global threats to use complex legal structures to launder money, traffic humans and drugs, and commit other crimes that threaten harm to the American people.” (Treasury statement, Sept. 29)
  • The rule will require most corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to disclose beneficial ownership information.
  • FinCEN notes that the definition of reporting company applies only to legal entities that have 20 or fewer employees and less than $5 million in gross receipts or sales as reflected in the previous year’s federal tax returns. These entities also must not otherwise benefit from the exemptions described in the regulations.
  • Reporting companies created or registered before Jan. 1, 2024, will have one year (until Jan. 1, 2025) to file their initial reports. Those entities created or registered after Jan. 1, 2024, will have 30 days to file their initial reports.

Data Required

FINCEN website
  • The required data about individuals who own, control or create firms will include the name, birthdate, address, and a unique identification number from driver’s licenses or passports—as well as images of the documents. (AP, Sept. 29)
  • Treasury states the database will be available only to law enforcement and government agencies under the CTA’s beneficial ownership information reporting provisions. (Treasury Department, “Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting”) 

Roundtable Concerns 

RECPAC meeting Annual 2022
  • The Real Estate Roundtable submitted comments with other industry organizations earlier this year about CTA’s anti-money laundering regulations affecting real estate transactions. (Industry comment letter and Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 25 | (Coalition letter to FINCEN, Feb. 4)
  • The Roundtable and three other national real estate organizations submitted detailed comments to FinCEN on May 5, 2021 addressing several implementation concerns related to the beneficial ownership registry. (Roundtable Weekly, May 7)
  • Separately, a broad business coalition that includes The Real Estate Roundtable submitted comments yesterday to congressional leaders in opposition to the Establishing New Authorities for Business Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security (ENABLERS) Act.
     
  • The ENABLERS Act would dramatically expand CTA reporting requirements and subject the owners, board members, and senior executives of most businesses and charities to audits. (Coalition letter, Sept. 29) 

The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC) will continue to work with industry partners to address the implications of FinCEN’s 330-page rule and the impact it could have on capital formation and the commercial real estate industry. RECPAC meets on Nov. 2 in New York City. 

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