The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a law enacted in 2021 as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. It aims to enhance transparency in the ownership of businesses by requiring certain entities to report their beneficial ownership information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Key objectives of the CTA:
• Combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes: By making beneficial ownership information readily accessible to law enforcement, the CTA aims to make it harder for bad actors to use shell companies and other opaque business structures to hide their illicit activities.
• Increase tax compliance: By making it easier for tax authorities to identify the true owners of businesses, the CTA aims to improve tax compliance and reduce tax evasion.
• Promote good corporate governance: By making beneficial ownership information public, the CTA aims to hold businesses more accountable to their stakeholders and investors.

Entities covered by the CTA:
• Corporations
• Limited liability companies (LLCs)
• Other entities created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or a similar office

Information required to be reported:
• Name and date of birth of each beneficial owner
• Address of each beneficial owner
• Unique identifying number (such as a passport number or driver’s license number) for each beneficial owner
• Percentage of ownership interest held by each beneficial owner

Timeline:
• The CTA’s reporting requirements will become effective on January 1, 2024.
• Reporting companies formed or registered before January 1, 2024, will have two years to submit their initial report to FinCEN.
• Reporting companies formed or registered on or after January 1, 2024, will have 90 days to submit their initial report to FinCEN.

Resources:
• FinCEN website: https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/Corporate_Transparency_Act.pdf
• American Bar Association article: https://businesslawtoday.org/2021/04/corporate-transparency-act-preparing-federal-database-beneficial-ownership-information/
• Wolters Kluwer article: https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/the-corporate-transparency-act-is-poised-to-have-a-significant-impact-on-businesses

Please let me know if you have any specific questions about the CTA.

Sincerely,
Andrew M. Jaffe
Attorney at Law

Now 14 States Have Passed New Privacy Laws – Here is the Criteria for including their unique rules in your Privacy Policy.

Arkansas – social media companies must use a third-party vendor to perform reasonable age verification before allowing access to their platforms. This verification could include requiring a digital copy of a driver’s license, government ID or other “commercially reasonable” method.

California – The company has annual gross revenues in excess of $25,000,000 OR annually buys, receives, sells or shares personal information of 50,000 or more consumers anywhere.

Colorado – Conducting business in Colorado targeting 100,000 residents OR derives revenue from the sale of personal data of 25,000 or more consumers (anywhere).

Connecticut – Conducting business in Connecticut targeting100,000 residents OR derives revenue from the sale of personal data of 25,000 or more consumers (anywhere).

Illinois – Conducting business in Illinois and collection of Biometric Identifiers of Illinois residents.

Indiana – Conducting business in Indiana targeting100,000 residents OR derives revenue from the sale of personal data of 25,000 or more consumers (anywhere).

Iowa – Conducting business in Iowa targeting100,000 residents OR derives revenue from the sale of personal data of 25,000 or more consumers (anywhere).

Nevada – Conducts business in Nevada.

Ohio – The company has 200 or more sales or transactions in Ohio OR has gross sales of $5,000.00 or more in Ohio.

Montana – Companies that do business in Montana and either: (1) control or process personal data of at least 50,000 state residents; OR (2) derive over 25% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data and control or process personal data of 25,000 or more state residents.

Tennessee – Conducting business in Tennessee and has annual gross revenues in excess of twenty-fie million dollars ($25,00,0000.00) AND processes the personal information of 25,000 consumers and derives more than 50% of gross revenue for the sale of personal information or process personal information of at least 175000 consumers per year.

Utah – Restrictions on Social Media Use by Minors AND to verify the age of any Utah resident.

Virginia – Conduct business in Virginia AND During a calendar year (i) control or process personal data of at least 100,000 consumers or (ii) control or process personal data of at least 25,000 consumers and derive over 50 percent of their gross revenue from the sale of personal data.

Washington – Any consumer health care data collection on a WA resident,

Please contact me to discuss your Privacy Policy if the criteria affects your posted Privacy Policy.