The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was passed into law, effective January 1, 2021, as part of the larger Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. CTA requires most business entities registered to conduct business in the U.S. to report information about the entity’s beneficial owners to the Department of the Treasury. Specifically, Beneficial Owner Information (“BOI”) is reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) division of Treasury. 

The goals of CTA are to limit the use of shell companies in the U.S. to hide the actual individuals owning or controlling activities that may evade tax or may be criminal. BOI information may be shared with government agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, and regulators. The information is not intended to be shared with the general public.

For closely held businesses and foreign entities operating in the U.S., BOI reporting may generate a new compliance burden to collect, protect, and report personal information on individual owners and key management personnel.

Join Michael Cornett, a leader in the Firm’s International Tax group, with Sarah McGregor and Brooks Nelson to have your burning questions answered about the CTA.

Chapter Markers

• 2:20 – Overview of BOI reporting
• 7:04 – What is a Reporting Company 
• 12:24 – Who is Beneficial Owner
• 16:37 – When is information reported 
• 18:22 – What information must be reported
• 23:06 – Action Steps