Deadline approaches for business owners to comply with Corporate Transparency Act

By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The deadline is fast approaching for many businesses across the country to file with the federal government.

Elizabeth Rumley, senior staff attorney at the National Ag Law Center, says the default assumption of small business owners should be to file under the Corporate Transparency Act, or confirm they are exempted, by Dec. 31. (Division of Agriculture photo)

The Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA, requires millions of small business entities to disclose details of their beneficial owners through a Beneficial Ownership Information, or BOI, report. The report is filed through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN.

The purpose of the CTA is to reduce financial crimes, such as money laundering, by taking stock of ownership information of businesses that operate within or have access to the U.S. market. The CTA is not new, having been enacted in 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Its reporting requirements went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

Reporting companies must include information identifying “beneficial owners” of the business, including name, date of birth, address, and a copy of some specific forms of identification, such as a driver’s license or a passport. 

In addition, companies created or registered after Jan. 1, 2024, must also include personal identifying information about the individuals responsible for the filing. Reporting is done entirely online.

Elizabeth Rumley, senior staff attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center, or NALC, said the CTA is a significant topic not just for those in agriculture, but also for all business owners.

“The CTA is an attempt at cataloguing a national corporate database that tracks U.S. business ownership,” Rumley said. “It’s one of the biggest topics that we have discussed with stakeholders this year, and its reach goes far beyond agriculture. The CTA impacts millions of the nation’s small business entities, and there are just over two months left to report.”

Rumley noted that there are potential significant consequences for failing to comply, including fines or imprisonment.

“There are certain entities that are exempt from filing, but the default assumption of small business owners should be to file, or confirm that they are exempted, by Dec. 31,” she said.

Getting the word out

As the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information, the NALC has made it a key part of its mission in 2024 to spread word of the CTA ahead of the December filing deadline. Part of that approach has been the creation of a CTA factsheet, which is available online on the NALC website. The factsheet was authored by former NALC Research Fellow Caitlin Robb and Rumley.

“Our goal with the factsheet was to condense everything that is known about the CTA — including its history, what it does, who it impacts, how to file, situation examples, and more — into a resource to refer to,” Rumley said. “Through our speaking events and engagements with stakeholders in 2024, we have realized that many have limited knowledge of the CTA or are unaware of it entirely.”

Earlier this year, the NALC also hosted a webinar covering details of the CTA. Kristine Tidgren, director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University, or CALT, presented the webinar, which is available to view online. Additionally, CALT has a webpage dedicated to information on the CTA.

“We understand there are many questions when it comes to the CTA,” Rumley said. “These resources should answer a lot of questions and point people in the right direction.”

Legal challenges

Numerous legal challenges regarding the CTA are pending. Recently, an Oregon federal court declined to issue a preliminary injunction in a case where the plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the CTA.

In March, a federal district court in Alabama ruled that the CTA is unconstitutional, granting plaintiffs in the case summary judgement as a matter of law. The ruling suspended enforcement of the CTA in regard to some specific parties.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in an appeal of that decision on Sept. 27. That process will likely not alter the deadline for businesses to file.

With the deadline to file just around the corner, those who still need to file should plan accordingly, Rumley said.

“The end of the year is approaching fast,” Rumley said. “It’s important to learn more about whether the filing requirements apply to your business, and then make a plan for meeting those obligations to avoid potential consequences.”

For information about the National Agricultural Law Center, visit nationalaglawcenter.org. The National Agricultural Law Center is also on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Subscribe online to receive NALC Communications, including webinar announcements, the NALC’s Quarterly Newsletter, and The Feed.

Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

The deadline to register to vote for the November General Election is fast approaching.  If you are not already registered, you have until Monday, October 7 to turn in your registration form. The General Election and Nonpartisan Runoff Election will be held on November 5. 

Early voting begins on October 21. Polls for early voting will be open between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 am – 4:00 pm on Saturday. Early voting ends at 5:00 pm on the Monday prior to the election.  

Voting is a cornerstone of democracy, a fundamental right that empowers citizens to influence the direction of their government and society. It gives Arkansans a voice in the decision-making processes that affect their daily lives. When Arkansans participate in elections, they express their opinions on critical issues, ensuring that their values and priorities are represented. 

Submitting your voter application at a state agency, in a voter registration drive, or through the U.S. Postal Service does NOT guarantee your registration. You should follow up on the status of your registration just as you would on any other personal business matter. Before considering yourself a registered voter, you must receive an acknowledgment of your registration from the county clerk. Feel free to call your county clerk and inquire about the status of your application. You may also check your voter registration status online by visiting www.voterview.org. 

Voter registration applications may be found at sos.arkansas.gov. If you are registering to vote by mail you must provide either your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number on your Arkansas Voter Registration Application, or check the box in #9 on the application to indicate that you do not possess either a driver’s license or Social Security number.

We encourage you to verify your registration and make plans now to cast your ballot.

Canvassing groups collect signatures as July deadline looms

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Arkansas groups attempting to put their ballot amendments before voters are coming up on an important deadline.

Wikimedia Image

If you want a certain issue to appear on the ballot for voters in November, you have to get tens of thousands of signatures from across the state. If you want to pass an initiative, that number is over 72,000. If the proposal you are trying to pass amends the Arkansas Constitution, you have to collect just over 90,000 signatures from 50 of the state’s 75 counties.

Groups are about a month away from a July 5 deadline to submit signatures. There are seven groups or people who are pushing amendments and initiatives; six of those are scrambling in the final stretch to collect as many signatures as they can.

Canvassing groups collect signatures as July deadline looms

PARP offers opportunity for additional relief to underserved farms with pandemic-related losses

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture  

LITTLE ROCK — Underserved farmers who suffered pandemic-related losses have until July 14 to apply for funds from the Pandemic Assistance Relief Program, or PARP.

PARP was created to expand the existing pandemic relief programs and to target overall revenue loss rather than just price losses, said Ryan Loy, extension economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Extension agronomist Ryan Loy says there's a limit to the time to apply and the amount of funding available through PARP. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Kerry Rodtnick)

PARP is a lesser-known program that follows on the heels of other pandemic-relief programs including the Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs, known as CFAP 1 and 2, the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program Spot Market Hog Pandemic, and the 2020 Emergency Relief Program. The program is part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021.

“It’s mainly the fact that the federal government had leftover funds,” Loy said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture “said ‘Let’s try to reach producers that we weren’t able to reach before with CFAP and ERP and programs along those lines’.

“The goal with PARP is to actually focus on underserved producers,” he said. “There’s kind of a laundry list of eligibility. I would suggest to any producer who is interested, to either go to farmers.gov — it’s right there on the front page — or call your local Farm Service Agency office. If you come to the FSA office with your 2016-2020 tax returns, they’ll basically do it all for you.”

Who’s eligible?

Loy said eligibility extends to any producer or entity that participated in agricultural production during the 2020 calendar year.

“PARP is also written to include cattle feeder operations that were previously denied assistance under CFAP 1 and 2,” Loy said. “The producer must have suffered at least a 15 percent decrease in allowable gross revenue for 2020 as compared to either 2018 or 2019 calendar year.

Deadline approaching

The clock is ticking both on the time and funding available, Loy said.

“There are two weeks left, however, it’s first-come, first-served,” he said. “A producer is eligible for up to $125,000. That’s the most they’ll pay, but it is subject to available funds. So, let’s say you put in your application in January, there is a pretty good likelihood that you’ll get paid relatively sooner than someone who applies a little later.”

Taxable payment

“This is a direct payment. It’s not a loan, you don’t have to pay it back,” Loy said. “Something that is important to know is that this is taxable income because it is a direct payment to you.”

PARP targets whole-farm allowable gross revenue losses in 2020 compared to the producer’s allowable gross revenue in 2018 or 2019. A producer can choose to elect losses on either year as their benchmark or based on their expected gross revenue in 2020 if they did not farm in either 2018 or 2019.

Gross revenue is the aggregation of the value of a producer’s crops. The allowable gross revenue is based on the net farming loss or profit from Schedule F, minus any pandemic-related aid already received by the producer.

For more information, please visit farmers.gov or contact your local FSA office.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.du/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.