In the News

Beneficial Ownership Data Needn’t Oppress

By French Hill in the Wall Street Journal

Letter to the Editor:

Thank you for your recent editorial, A New Small Business Burden, highlighting the unintended consequences of a new beneficial ownership bill moving through the House. I’ve been speaking out about this legislation, called the Corporate Transparency Act, for quite some time. I share several concerns, voiced by the Editorial Board, with how the legislation is written and would be implemented.

As I see it, there are three legs to, what I like to call, the beneficial ownership stool; the small businesses, the banks, and law enforcement. Each of these three legs must be the same length or else the stool is off-balance. The way the current bill is written, the small business leg is much shorter than the other two legs.

In response, I have crafted my own legislation that creates a better working solution for all parties involved. My version, originally introduced as an amendment earlier this year, would direct Treasury to create a new rule to tie the beneficial ownership information collection to the regular, well-understood IRS tax filing regime.

One of my biggest concerns with the Corporate Transparency Act is the burden this bill places on small businesses. According to a survey conducted by the NFIB, 81% of small business owners opposed Congress requiring small business owners to file paperwork with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). As a former small business owner, I know that most business owners don’t know what FinCEN is, so how are they supposed to know how to comply with the regulations of an agency they have never heard of? Even more alarming, the legislation enacts criminal penalties that can be applied to these small business owners for failure to comply.

My bill would create a new alternative that responsibly increases transparency without punishing law-abiding mom and pop shops. I look forward to working with members on both sides of the Capitol to advance an alternate approach that doesn’t unnecessarily burden small businesses.