NSBA urges Congress to pass H.R. 736 to delay the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
UPDATE, 10 FEB. 2025 - ONE YEAR DOWN, ONE CHAMBER TO GO | The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Monday that would extend the deadline for millions of small businesses to report their ownership information to Treasury under an anti-money laundering law, one of six bipartisan Financial Services bills that cleared the chamber.
Stay tuned as we follow progress of passage of this important bill to delay the Corporate Transparence Act. CTA - not the way!
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The House returns to Washington, D.C., today with a major vote on legislation to delay the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)--one of six bills teed-up for consideration under suspension, meaning they can pass with only 2/3 of the Chamber present for voting.
That bill, the Protect Small Business from Excessive Paperwork Act of 2025 (H.R. 736) was introduced by Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and would delay reporting deadlines under the CTA through 2026.
NSBA and its 65,000 small-business members strongly support H.R. 736 and awarded Rep. Nunn with the NSBA Small Business Star Award just this past week in honor of his commitment to strengthening American entrepreneurship through his efforts to delay the CTA.
For years, NSBA has fought hard against the CTA, both before the bill was even passed and through a lawsuit against Treasury over the implementing regulations which is making its way through the federal court system.
The first ruling in NSBA’s case found the CTA to be unconstitutional and resulted in any NSBA member in good standing as of March 1, 2025, being exempted from having to file their Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports. We anticipate a ruling from the Eleventh Cricut Court of Appeals any day.
While NSBA supports efforts to stem money laundering, the CTA not only will NOT effectively address that issue, but it now adds a massive layer of complexity and data security issues that only small businesses now have to deal with. The bill was flawed from its inception—shifting the burden of monitoring business financing from banks onto America’s small businesses.
Through a ruling on a federal lawsuit out of Texas, currently, there is a nationwide injunction in place to block enforcement and beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements due under the CTA.
The Department of Justice has filed for action from the court to cancel this injunction, arguing the law is constitutional, despite how the CTA would create a database of Small-Business owner information to be accessible by government officials without a warrant. However, in an appeal in a separate case by the DOJ related to the CTA, the government seems to be leaving the door open for consideration of changes to the CTA, citing how the Treasury Department is continuing to weigh effects of the law.
Over the past two months, small-business owners have been on a nonstop see-saw when it comes to whether or not they have to file. NSBA continues to urge Congress to pass a delay bill to give small business some level of predictability – particularly given the steep fines of up to $500 per day in fines and potential jail time.
“NSBA has been leading the charge against the CTA for years, and I want to personally thank Rep. Nunn for introducing H.R. 736 which would delay by one year the burdensome CTA,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “I applaud Rep. Nunn’s continued leadership on this issue and strongly urge all Members of Congress to give their small-business constituents some reprieve from this deeply troubling back-and-forth on the CTA.”
First votes are expected at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 10. Follow NSBA as we continue urging Congress and Washington to address, reform, delay, and repeal the CTA.
