Small business owners share their experiences with new Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements

Publisher:

Small Business Majority

Date:

jueves, febrero 15, 2024

As of January 1, 2024, some small businesses in the United States are required to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This new reporting requirement is part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a law designed to help prevent and combat money laundering, tax fraud and other financial crimes. The CTA defines a beneficial owner as an individual who, directly or indirectly, exercises substantial control over a reporting company, or who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interests of a reporting company. A small business may be a domestic reporting company if:

The business is a corporation, or
The business is a limited liability company (LLC), or
The business was created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or any similar office under the law of a state or Native American tribe.

A recent Small Business Majority national opinion poll gauged small business owners’ awareness of the new BOI reporting requirement and their experiences with filing the report. The survey found that 58% of small business owners are aware of the new law. Furthermore, as of January 31, 44% of small businesses had filed a Beneficial Ownership Information report. Of the small business owners who’ve already filed, more than two-thirds (68%) report that completing the Beneficial Ownership Information report was easy and only 18% found completing it difficult.

The survey reveals that while small business owners who have filed a BOI report are finding the process to be easy, a significant number of small businesses still need to be educated about the new requirement.

Read our blog post on Venturize for more information about who qualifies for BOI reporting and next steps to take as a small business owner.