Posts by Laurence Donahue
National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.). Still have to Report!
We will provide a more in-depth analysis of this court case, but we wanted to let everyone know that while this court case does hold the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) unconstitutional, it doesn’t enjoin FinCEN from enforcing the CTA, except as it relates to the plaintiffs (i.e. the people and organizations who brought this specific…
Read MoreFinCEN Seeks Comments on the Information to be Collected from Authorized Recipients Requesting Beneficial Ownership Information
Date: 1/29/2024 FinCEN Seeks Comments on the Information to be Collected from Authorized Recipients Requesting Beneficial Ownership Information The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is seeking comments on the information to be collected from certain authorized recipients requesting access to beneficial ownership information, consistent with the requirements of the final Access and Safeguards rule. The…
Read MoreLawyers, You Might Be A Company Applicant!
In addition to reporting the identities of a company’s owners, companies created or registered after January 1, 2024, are required to report the identities of their applicants. Applicants are broadly defined as the individual or individuals who caused the company’s creation documents to be filed with the secretary of state or similar office. Companies created…
Read MoreFinCEN Announces Updates to Its FAQ
Date: 1/1/2024 FinCEN Updates Frequently Asked Questions on Beneficial Ownership Information The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has updated its Beneficial Ownership Information Frequently Asked Questions to include new information about reporting companies, beneficial owners, company applicants, reporting requirements, and reporting company exemptions, as well as updated information about FinCEN identifiers. FinCEN is now accepting…
Read MoreThe Risks of Failing to Report, Submitting an Erroneous Report, or Failing to Supplement BOIR
Without a doubt there will be those who choose to navigate BOI reporting on their own, and inevitably some of them are going to get it wrong. They never imagined they could be slapped with a hefty fine or, in the unluckiest circumstances, face serious jail time for simply making a mistake on a form…
Read MoreFinCEN Announces Registry is Now Open for Business!
Date: 1/1/2024 U.S. Beneficial Ownership Information Registry Now Accepting Reports Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) began accepting beneficial ownership information reports. The bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act, enacted in 2021 to curb illicit finance, requires many companies doing business in the United States to report information about the individuals…
Read MoreIndirect vs. Direct Ownership Interest
A “reporting company” is what FinCEN calls a company that is required to report its Beneficial Ownership Information (or BOI). But, who is a Beneficial Owner? There are two broad categories of Beneficial Owners: Those who exert “Substantial Control” over a reporting company, and those who own or control 25% or more of the “Ownership…
Read MoreWhat is Ownership Interest in a Reporting Company
Ownership interest is a catch-all term used by FinCEN to measure the amount of ownership or control in a “reporting company”. A reporting company is the term used by FinCEN to refer to a company that is required to report its Beneficial Ownership Information (or BOI). Ownership interest has different forms, it can represent current…
Read MoreTypes of Entities
There are two categories of entities we care about, when considering Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting to FinCEN. The first category pertains to the “reporting company,” the term used by FinCEN to identify companies who are required to report their BOI, and how the type of entity of a reporting company influences how one determines…
Read MoreEntities as Beneficial Owners
A wide-variety of entities can own a company, and the type of entity can influence how you determine Beneficial Ownership. FinCEN Defines Four Types of Entities FinCEN groups entities into four categories: individuals, trusts, companies, and “other entities”. “Other entities” has received very little attention by FinCEN (at least in the version 1.1 December 2023…
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