It's no secret that the left hates small businesses. How can the laborers unite if there's only two of us, and we already own our production?
There's just no way to build enough discontent for an organized violent revolution with small business owners; we're too busy trying to make a living.
And so our Democrat overlords passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) signed into law by Joe Biden in 2021.
The law was supposedly passed to get tough on money launderers and tax evaders, but in reality it is an attack on small business owners, and as you'll see, an attempt to send us all to prison.
You see, the CTA has a requirement that all small business owners, who own 25% or more of a small business, must register their personally identifying information with the Federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
That‘s like registering with your local police department to prove you're not a murderer before anyone dies.
Businesses with more than 20 employees and making more than $5 million per year are exempt from filing, so this law really targets mom-and-pop shops and hobbyists, but the exemption has to be both among other requirements, and you'd be wise not to assume you're exempt.
More than 32.5 million existing entities are expected to be subject to the CTA, and approximately 5 million new entities are expected to join that number each year.
Almost no small business owner I know has even heard of this requirement. The government and the media are doing their best to keep it on the down low.
Finding information on the requirements leaves one feeling a lot like Arthur Dent trying to find the plans to demolish his house in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
"But the plans were on display…"
"On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the display department."
"With a flashlight."
"Ah, well, the lights had probably gone."So had the stairs."But look, you found the notice, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.'"
And the results of failing to file are no less dire than his.
Failure to turn over your information by January 1, 2025, proves you're a criminal subject to a $10,000 fine, 2 years in prison, and undoubtedly an audit of your books.
It's no joke, folks.
In better news, the National Small Business Association (NSBA) sued the Biden administration on behalf of its members (65,000 small businesses).
The Honorable Liles C. Burke of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the CTA was unconstitutional and enjoined the federal government from enforcing the act against the plaintiffs of the case.
I'll repeat that, the Feds are only blocked from enforcing the requirement for the plaintiffs in THIS case.
Here is the notice from FinCEN:
On March 1, 2024, in the case of National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.), a federal district court in the Northern District of Alabama, Northeastern Division, entered a final declaratory judgment, concluding that the Corporate Transparency Act exceeds the Constitution's limits on Congress's power and enjoining the Department of the Treasury and FinCEN from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act against the plaintiffs. FinCEN is complying with the court's order and will continue to comply with the court's order for as long as it remains in effect. As a result, the government is not currently enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act against the plaintiffs in that action: Isaac Winkles, reporting companies for which Isaac Winkles is the beneficial owner or applicant, the National Small Business Association, and members of the National Small Business Association (as of March 1, 2024). Those individuals and entities are not required to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN at this time.
If you've paid your dues to the Small Business Association, you don't have to file, but if not, you're still required to. And in their notice, FinCEN makes it clear that it's only members "as of March 1, 2024," so you can't just run out and join the National Small Business Association to get off the hook.
For the rest of us, that means we need to pre-prove our innocence or risk fines and prison.
On that note, here's a guide on how to file if you need to.
