FINCEN / Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Requirement (posted 12/06/24, updated 12/27/24)
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🔥 FINCEN Alerts - See FINCEN BOI page for the latest
Watching the fits and starts of the FINCEN attempts to surveil business owners is like watching a ping pong match, but nowhere near as much fun and with much more at stake. We cannot keep up with every change, so your best bet to stay updated with the latest status is to visit:
FINCEN Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI): fincen.gov/boi
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Background
A federal judge granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against an unconstitutional federal law that would have imposed major reporting costs on millions of small businesses through illegal and burdensome regulations.
Under this unconstitutional federal law, most entities incorporated under state law were required to disclose personal stakeholder information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s criminal enforcement arm—the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).
Two related lawsuits protested these regulations, and both won temporary injunctions to suspend the reporting requirements (reports were due by 01/01/25, then 01/15/25, and — as of 12/27/24 — are on hold again).
…a last-minute nationwide preliminary injunction would undermine our ability to push other countries to reform their laws ~5th Circuit Appellate Court unpublished opinion
So, in effect, our constitutional rights are subordinate to how the Deep State wants to change laws in foreign countries ~AAPS
ED NOTE
A Substack Bug prevents the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) links from appearing correctly. So please start here: us1.campaign-archive.co…
Then use the dates and titles below to read specific AAPS articles → AAPS Updates:
12/27/2024 — We Defeat Deep State (FinCEN) Again!
12/23/24 — BAD NEWS: 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules for FinCEN! A motions panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rendered an unpublished order that reinstates the FinCEN reporting obligation for nearly 33 million Americans. AAPS reasserted their pending expedited motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court in Amarillo, Texas.
12/07/24 — Deep State is pulling out all the stops and appealed the injunction in record time.
12/05/24 — Blocked: FinCEN reporting requirement!
→ Nationwide Injunction Blocks Unconstitutional Law That Imposed Massive Costs on Small Businesses. TX Attorney General Ken Paxton (12/05/24). Press release links to Amicus Brief and the Ruling:
Background (from AG Ken Paxton's Press Release):
In 2021, the 21-page Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was tucked into a sweeping 1,482-page defense bill passed by Congress over President Donald Trump’s veto.
Under the law, entities incorporated under state law were forced to disclose the personal information of their stakeholders, including current address, identification documents, and other sensitive information, to the Department of the Treasury’s criminal enforcement arm.
Penalties for noncompliance could result in fines of up to $500,000 and 10 years in jail.
However, the Constitution does not give Congress the power to unilaterally regulate the approximately 32.6 million organizations that have been granted formal corporate status by the States.
Key Points (from AG Ken Paxton's Amicus Brief):
This case involves a Constitutional challenge to the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), which requires most entities incorporated under state law to disclose personal stakeholder information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s criminal enforcement arm—the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).
The Constitution does not give Congress the power to regulate millions of entities—including benefit corporations, non-profits, holding companies, political organizations, and many more—that have been granted formal corporate status by the States, simply because they obtained that status from a state.
The CTA regulates corporate formation—which is governed by state law—not interstate commerce.
AG Paxton’s brief stated that the Court should find the CTA unconstitutional. And it did!
Key Points (from AAPS Newsletter):
AAPS sued in Amarillo, Texas to block the onerous reporting requirement of ownership information (home addresses, etc.) about medical practices and millions of other local entities to FinCEN, a federal agency.
This reporting obligation was due by 01/01/25.
A federal court in Sherman, Texas, issued a blanket, nationwide injunction blocking this reporting obligation.
As long as this preliminary injunction is in effect, you do not have to report to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act.
This injunction was issued in a lawsuit similar to AAPS’s (see above from Ken Paxton).
AAPS will seek to make this injunction permanent.
