When do entrepreneurs, LLC and small business owners have to file Beneficial Ownership Information reports? “Now,” stated John L. Williams, Esq., president of IncNow, a 50 year old business formation and registered agent service located in Wilmington, Delaware, upon announcing its new wholly-owned subsidiary, CTAboi.com.
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John L. Williams, Esq., President, IncNow and CTAboi (Photo: Business Wire)
While millions of Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) reports have been filed in 2024, according to Williams, “four-fifths of entrepreneurs have not filed yet. Many have not even heard of the law that requires it.” THE CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT (“CTA”) is a bipartisan law Congress passed to fight money laundering and financial crimes. It requires more than 37 million small businesses in the U.S. to file a BOI report with detailed information about their company and beneficial owners by year end to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCen”), a division of the U.S. Treasury, or to potentially face severe fines or jail time or both.
“CTAboi.com was initially conceived to assist IncNow’s more than 20,000 customer companies that need to file BOI Reports with FinCen,” stated Williams. “Today, we launched CTAboi.com, a do-it-yourself plus platform to help, not just our customers, but also the many small business and LLC owners targeted by the CTA, especially those without legal counsel, reduce the likelihood of mistakes we typically see when people self-file with FinCen.”
Having over 20,000 business formation customers, John L. Williams, Esq., president and his team of trained professionals at IncNow and CTAboi know that the high level of detail and accuracy demanded by the CTA requires a very different mindset and capacity than main street entrepreneurs typically have in-house. Advises Williams, “From my experience, entrepreneurs, even when highly educated and very experienced in business do not speak the language of incorporation. Often, even the smartest people forget to include all trade names, leave out non-owner substantial control parties when listing ‘beneficial owners’ et cetera. It wouldn’t be so onerous if CTA didn’t have teeth. Any mistake, even leaving off a middle name, can result in non-compliance, and a minimum daily fine of $591 or jail time or both imposed by FinCen.”
According to Williams, “The majority of people we see who have self-reported on the government website make some mistakes. The CTA law contains many potential traps. It is way more complicated than it should be with guides that are over 20 pages long and over a hundred questions FAQs on the government website. CTAboi helps avoid the many 'simple mistakes' people are making innocently that could have severe consequences. There is no safe harbor.”
About IncNow
IncNow, a family-owned incorporation service in Delaware, founded in 1974 by Delaware's first tax attorney, David Williams. IncNow helps business owners form LLCs, Corporations, Series LLCs, Public Benefit Corporations, and Non-profits primarily in Delaware and for customers all over the world. They are also a registered agent in Delaware, Florida and Nevada.
IncNow has a 4.9 star Trust Pilot rating and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating. It is also Delaware’s first “Certified B Corp” (public benefit corporation), joining iconic B Corps like Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia in this global corporate effort to be independently audited and receive B Corp certification that its purpose-driven mission truly benefits its environmental, community and social responsibility.
For more information, visit the website (https://www.incnow.com).
About CTA
THE CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT (“CTA”), a bipartisan law Congress passed as part of the Defense Authorization Act, requires more than 37 million small businesses in the U.S. to report detailed information about their company, beneficial owners, senior officers and managers, including driver’s license, birth date, physical residence and more to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), a division of the U.S. Treasury.
Designed to fight money laundering and financial crime, The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), bipartisan penal statute is putting the squeeze on mom and pop businesses and even folks who just filed an LLC for a beach house, and many businesses that never did anything or owned anything. The statute has been challenged in the courts, but currently it is the law of the land. Entrepreneurs and others need to know about this.
This law has the potential to fine $591 per day, criminalize and even imprison for years the millions of entrepreneurs who are innocently operating companies, caught up in this dragnet. Small businesses are the engine of the United States economy.
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