Congressman Williams Leads Letter to Secretary Yellen and Director Gacki Concerning Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), led 11 members in a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Director, Andrea Gacki, expressing deep concerns regarding the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which will impose burdensome regulations on small businesses nationwide.

"Only 14.2% of small businesses in Texas have submitted compliance with the BOI rule. This alarmingly low compliance rate highlights this critical problem: many small business owners are unaware of these reporting requirements or are struggling to navigate BOI's complexity," Congressman Williams wrote. "Instead of threatening to penalize law abiding mom and pop shops, FinCEN should consider repealing the BOI requirements all together or take immediate steps to ensure small businesses are adequately informed or equipped to comply."

"In less than a month, tens of millions of law-abiding small businesses face the threat of significant fines and prison time for not complying with a law they have never heard of. These penalties from the Corporate Transparency Act will hammer small businesses that are still suffering from high inflation and energy costs, pervasive workforce shortages, and $1.8 trillion of new regulatory costs. Congress must provide small businesses with relief by repealing this burdensome new mandate." - NFIB

Read the full letter here.

This letter was also signed by representatives Monica De La Cruz, Pete Sessions, Dan Crenshaw, Jake Ellzey, August Pfluger, Keith Self, Randy Weber, Chip Roy, Kay Granger, Ronny L. Jackson, and Jodey Arrington.

Background:

• The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is requiring small businesses to report their beneficial owners to the agency on or after Jan 1, 2024.
• As of recently, only 14% of small businesses in Texas have sent in their compliance paperwork to FinCEN.
• The duty of educating business owners falls on FinCEN, and these low numbers show that they have fallen short in their duties.
• Williams urges they extend the compliance date, restructure the requirements, or repeal them altogether.

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Congressman Roger Williams is the Chairman of the House Small Business Committee and member of the House Financial Services Committee. He proudly represents the 25th Congressional District of Texas.