Beneficial Ownership Reporting Required Under the Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act (the CTA), which became law on January 1, 2021, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (P.L. 116-283), requires certain US entities and foreign entities doing business in the United States to report their beneficial owners to the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The CTA is generally intended to increase transparency, and thus discourage the use, of shell companies, which is an important step in the fight against money laundering, terrorist finance, corruption, and other criminal behavior.

Treasury is required to issue regulations implementing these reporting requirements no later than one year from the date of enactment of the CTA. It is expected that the regulations will provide more detailed guidance on the beneficial ownership reporting.

For more information about the CTA, see the following sources:

Sandra Feldman, Wolters Kluwer, The Corporate Transparency Act imposes new beneficial ownership reporting obligations on business entities (Jan. 12, 2021).

Quinn Emanuel, New “Beneficial Owner” Requirements Under the Corporate Transparency Act.

Posted by Lewis J. Saret, Co-General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.