The Corporate Transparency Act: What Business Owners Need to Know

In an effort to combat the proliferation of anonymous shell companies used for criminal purposes in the United States, Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”), which requires Reporting Companies to report personal identifying information about the Beneficial Owners and Company Applicants to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), which will maintain the personal identifying information in a secure database for use by governmental authorities and certain financial institutions.

What is a Reporting Company?

Reporting Companies include domestic corporations, limited liability companies, or other entities created by filing with a secretary of state or similar office under the laws of a state or an Indian tribe and corporations, limited liability companies, or other entities formed under the laws of a foreign country that has registered to do business in the United States. Continue reading