After many false starts regarding the status of the Corporate Transparency Act, a law that mandates that certain businesses must file beneficial ownership information (BOI) with the federal government, the U.S. Treasury Department has announced that it will not enforce the upcoming rule. The rule’s stated purpose was to prevent the formation of shell companies used to launder money.

  • BOI refers to information about the individual people who directly or indirectly own at least 25% of a company or exercise “substantial control” over the company.
  • The vast majority of PPAI’s roughly 15,000 member companies would have been subject to a reporting requirement by March 21, according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).


Referring to the rule as “outrageous” and “invasive,” President Donald Trump claims “the economic menace of BOI reporting will soon be no more.” This was followed by the Treasury Department confirming that the fines threatened by the rule would not be enforced going forward.

Background On BOI Reporting

Since late 2022, the Treasury Department had been creating rules around BOI reporting in order to ultimately establish a database of personal information on tens of millions of business owners as an organizational tool to curb financial crimes.

Every business entity created by filing a document with a secretary of state or equivalent office would have had to file a BOI report, unless it qualified for one of 23 exemptions. Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and less than $5 million in gross receipts were on the hook to file. This describes the vast majority of PPAI member firms.

  • Steep fines had been established for businesses that qualified but did not comply with the reporting rules.