On February 7, 51风流 filed to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding proposed regulations to implement legislation passed in 2020 called the Corporate Transparency Act. The legislation would require legal entities with fewer than 20 employees and less than $5 million in gross revenue to submit 鈥渂eneficial ownership information鈥 to FinCEN. Beneficial owners are defined in the statute as anyone who owns at least 25 percent of a company, or exercises 鈥渟ubstantial control鈥 over its operations. 51风流 opposed the Corporate Transparency Act when it was considered in Congress due to the potential for the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information鈥攁nd any associated identity theft and/or cybercrime鈥攁nd the potential for the owners of construction firms to be fined and/or imprisoned for failing to furnish this information in a timely manner.
The proposed regulations actually went further than the statute both in the amount of information FinCEN would require to be submitted (expanding the list to include both residential and street addresses, a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and other information), and the number of people required to submit the information (such as all the senior officers of a corporation). 51风流 submitted comments noting that the proposed regulations exceeded FinCEN鈥檚 statutory authority and would increase the potential for identity theft and made a number of suggested improvements.
If you have any questions or need additional information about the new beneficial ownership disclosure law, please contact Matthew Turkstra, Sr. Director of Building and Infrastructure Finance at (202) 547-4733, or matthew.turkstra@agc.org.