Yesterday, the House Rules Committee declined to make in order an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have protected Main Street businesses from the CTA’s burdensome beneficial ownership reporting requirements. The amendment, led by Representatives Warren Davidson and Michelle Fischbach, was ultimately left out of the 312 amendments made in order for floor consideration.

Apparently, Rules was concerned that the amendment was not germane to the defense bill. That’s odd, given the CTA originally became law by riding on the NDAA back in 2020.

The decision also came despite more than 60 trades, including the S Corporation …

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More than 90 trade associations sent a letter today urging the federal government to support Supreme Court review of the Corporate Transparency Act. The letter calls on Treasury and DOJ to back the two pending cert petitions currently before the Court — National Small Business United v. Bessent and Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Blanche — so that the fundamental constitutional questions raised by the CTA can be resolved once and for all.

The letter was led by the S Corporation Association and comes as the CTA faces mounting legal and political pressure from the business community. …

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More good news on the CTA front. Fresh on the heels of the House Financial Services Committee advancing CTA relief, the Senate has stepped up with legislation of its own. Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a bill this week that mirrors the House approach, codifying Treasury’s March 2025 rule limiting beneficial ownership information reporting to foreign entities only, while also requiring FinCEN to delete the personal data already collected from American business owners under the original mandate.

It’s a welcome development and a sign that momentum is building on both sides of the Capitol.

The Kennedy-Lee …

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As we previewed recently, the House Financial Services Committee yesterday advanced legislation that would repeal the Corporate Transparency Act’s reporting requirements for over 30 million American businesses. The measure – as amended and approved by the panel – codifies a Treasury Department rule limiting the CTA’s scope only to foreign entities, while protecting sensitive information already collected under the state by requiring a purge of the beneficial ownership database.

It’s a huge win for the tens of millions of Main Street businesses targeted by this ill-conceived reporting regime, and marks a new milestone in our efforts to rein in …

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Today’s piece by the Washington Post Editorial Board is a helpful reminder that while the Corporate Transparency Act has been knocked down in the past year, the fight continues. As the Post summarizes, the CTA deserves to be repealed:

At a practical level, the law is ineffective because it adds a new reporting requirement to stop behavior that is already illegal. The businesses that would abide by the Corporate Transparency Act already follow the law, while criminals would ignore it or get around it.

In the meantime, the federal government will amass a database of millions of small businesses, as well …

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