On Sept. 3, Associated Builders and Contractors joined 150 members of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council in a letter of support for H.R.9278, introduced by Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. This legislation would provide small businesses with an additional year to file the beneficial ownership information required by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s Corporate Transparency Act implementing regulation.

The CTA requires millions of small businesses, including nearly every employer with 20 or fewer employees, to report personal information of their beneficial owners and update that information periodically throughout the life of the business. Failure to comply with the onerous reporting requirements could subject small business owners and employees to potential fines and jail time.

“Although filing under the CTA began at the start of this year, FinCEN reports it has received just 10% of required submissions. This compliance rate can be attributed directly to the general lack of awareness among the small business community when it comes to the new rules. Given this massive education gap, it is clear additional time is needed for regulators and other stakeholders to continue their outreach to affected small businesses,” the letter stated. 

In the letter, ABC and the SBE Council urged Speaker Johnson to bring H.R. 9278 to the U.S. House of Representatives floor for a vote to provide business owners and employees with more time to comply with the CTA.

A similar bipartisan bill to H.R.9278, sponsored by Reps. Nunn and Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, passed the House late last year, 420-1. However, U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, stalled the legislation, putting small businesses at risk.

For more on the CTA Beneficial Ownership Requirements, see ABC’s Compliance Update published on Aug. 5. ABC encourages members and small business owners to discuss FinCEN’s BOI reporting requirements with counsel.