A Treasury Department official confirmed this week the government’s commitment to issue CTA rules by year-end.
The Corporate Transparency Act was passed by Congress over President Trump’s veto in December, 2020. In the CTA, Congress set December 31, 2021 as the deadline to implement the new law. The CTA hopes to create a database of corporations, limited-liability companies and other structures to fight money laundering.
Under the CTA, companies must file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN – the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. A beneficial ownership report must identify each person who owns more than 25% or otherwise exerts “substantial control” over the entity.
The Corporate Transparency Act is “the most sweeping overhaul of financial crimes safeguards in decades,” said Deborah Connor, chief of the U.S. Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. Congress expects that nearly 20 million entities will file beneficial ownership reports.
FinCEN previously issued an Advanced Notice of Public Rulemaking in May, 2021, outlining several key questions raised by the statute.
By stating its intention to issue an NPRM this summer, FinCEN is announcing its intention to adhere to the CTA’s December 31, 2021 deadline.
About The Author
Jonathan Wilson is the co-founder of FinCEN Report Company with 31 years of experience in corporate, M&A and securities matters. He is the author of The Corporate Transparency Act Compliance Guide (to be published by Lexis Nexis in the summer of 2023) and the Lexis Practical Guidance Practice Note on the Corporate Transparency Act.
