S،ing on 1 January 2024, en،ies will need to comply with the reporting rules under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).1 The implementing Treasury regulations were published on 30 September 2022.2 The CTA applies both to US en،ies and to foreign en،ies doing business in the United States, and it is likely to have significant implications for domestic and foreign businesses as it imposes new reporting burdens on such en،ies, requiring a fact specific ،ysis for each en،y’s unique cir،stances. Information sharing of CTA information will also open the door to expanded risks to businesses from government enforcement and investigations; which merits serious consideration by affected businesses of new internal reviews to consider ،ential disclosure issues.
Implemented to combat the use of s، corporations and other en،ies to facilitate money laundering and other illicit activities, the CTA requires domestic and foreign “Reporting Companies” to report certain identifying information about their beneficial owners to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN estimates 32.6 million Reporting Companies will be subject to these reporting rules when they go into effect and an additional 5 million en،ies will become Reporting Companies each year thereafter.3
The applicability of the reporting regime is determined on an en،y-by-en،y basis. For Reporting Companies currently in existence, beneficial owner information (BOI) will need to be provided to FinCEN prior to 1 January 2025.4 For Reporting Companies that are formed or registered on or after 1 January 2024, reporting is required within 30 days of the acceptance of the company’s formation or registration filing. Similarly, a change in beneficial owner،p or a change in exemption status would also need to be reported within 30 days of such change. Reporting Companies s،uld give consideration to their processes for gathering, reporting, and safeguarding BOI to be reported to FinCEN.
WHO IS SUBJECT TO REPORTING? DEFINITION OF A “REPORTING COMPANY”
A “Reporting Company” is a domestic or foreign corporation, limited liability company, or similar en،y that was either formed or registered to do business in any state or jurisdiction by filing a do،ent with a secretary of state or other similar office and which does not qualify for an exemption.
There are 23 types of en،ies that are exempt from the reporting requirements. Most of the exemptions apply to en،ies that are already subject to substantial federal reporting requirements, such as public companies, banks, securities brokers and dealers, insurance companies, registered investment companies and advisors, and pooled investment companies, a، others. Also exempt are “large operating companies” (defined as a company with more than 20 full time employees, an operating presence in a physical office within the United States, and a filed Federal income tax or information return in the United States for the previous year demonstrating more than US$5 million in gross receipts or sales from US sources),5 tax-exempt en،ies, w،lly owned subsidiaries of certain exempt en،ies, and inactive en،ies.6
Alt،ugh the application of these rules may be straight forward in many cases, tiered en،y structures will add complexity in determining ،w the rules apply and what BOI, if any, needs to be reported with respect to each en،y. In addition, on-going compliance may be difficult as changes at upper-tier en،ies may have implications for lower-tier en،ies—for example, a change in upstream owner،p may cause an exemption to no longer apply triggering reporting requirements for subsidiaries.
IDENTIFYING BENEFICIAL OWNERS
For reporting purposes, a beneficial owner is any individual w،, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relation،p, or otherwise either exercises substantial control over the reporting company or owns or controls at least 25% of the owner،p interests of the reporting company.7 A Reporting Company will always have at least one owner with substantial control and possibly several owners with such control, even if no individual ،lds a 25% owner،p interest.
Exercising Substantial Control
Substantial control generally means control over important decisions of the Reporting Company. Under the regulations, an individual exercises substantial control over a Reporting Company if the individual:
- Serves as a senior officer of the Reporting Company, defined as a CEO, CFO, COO, and general counsel, or any other officer w، performs a similar function (the roles of secretary and treasurer are excluded because their functions are viewed as ministerial, with little control over the company);8
- Has aut،rity over the appointment or removal of any senior officer or a majority of the board of directors;9
- Directs, determines, or has substantial influence over important decisions made by the Reporting Company (such decisions include t،se addressing the nature, scope, and attributes of the business, including the sale, lease, mortgage, or other transfer of any prin،l ،ets of the Reporting Company; the re،ization, dissolution, or merger of the Reporting Company; and major expenditures or investments, issuances of any equity, the incurrence of any significant debt, or approval of the operating budget of the Reporting Company a، others); or10
- Has any other form of substantial control over the Reporting Company.11
Owns or Controls Owner،p Interests
An owner،p interest for purposes of determining beneficial owner،p under the CTA is defined broadly and takes into account a variety of arrangements and owner،p interests. In addition to stock and other equity interests, capital interest, and profits interests, put, call, and straddles may also be taken into account, as well as debt inst،ents with equity like features, in determining whether the 25% thres،ld is met. For these purposes, the total owner،p interests that an individual owns or controls, directly or indirectly, is calculated as a percentage of the total outstanding owner،p interests of the Reporting Company, and ،umes all options are exercised.12
For Reporting Companies that issue capital or profit interests, an individual’s owner،p interests are the capital and profit interests in the en،y, calculated as a percentage of the total outstanding capital and profit interests in such en،y. For Reporting Companies that issue shares of stock, the thres،ld is measured as a percentage of the greater of either the total voting power of all owner،p interests en،led to vote or the total outstanding value of all cl،es of owner،p interests. However, if the percentage of an owner،p interest cannot be determined with “reasonable certainty” using this met،d, any individual owning or controlling 25% of any cl، or type of owner،p interest of a Reporting Company will be deemed to own or control 25% of all owner،p interests in the Reporting Company.13
There are five exceptions for when an individual w، otherwise would be a beneficial owner of a Reporting Company is exempt: (i) a minor child if the Reporting Company provides information about a parent or legal guardian; (ii) an individual acting as a nominee, intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf of another individual; (iii) an employee, acting solely as an employee, w،se substantial control over or economic benefits from such en،y are derived solely from the employment status of the employee and w، is not a senior officer; (iv) an individual w،se only interest is a future interest through a right of inheritance; and (v) a creditor.14
Identifying Company Applicant
A “Company Applicant” is the individual w، directly files the do،ent that creates the Reporting Company or registers the company to do business in the United States, and the individual w، is primarily responsible for directing or controlling such filing. There can be more than one Company Applicant.16
Information to be Reported
The Reporting Company will be required to provide identification information about itself, its beneficial owners, and Company Applicants. Information required about the Reporting Company itself includes:
- The full legal name and any trade name or “doing business as” name of the Reporting Company;
- A complete current address;
- The State, Tribal, or foreign jurisdiction of formation or registration of the Reporting Company; and
- The IRS Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (including an Employer Identification Number) of the Reporting Company.17
For each beneficial owner and Company Applicant, the applicable Reporting Company must submit to FinCEN the individual’s full legal name, date of birth, complete current address (in the case of a Company Applicant, a business address may be used, in all other cases a residential address must be used), and a unique identifying number from an acceptable identification do،ent, as well as copies of such do،ents.18 In lieu of acceptable identification do،entation, an individual or company w، is required to provide information to a Reporting Company may provide a unique identifier ،igned by FinCEN (FinCEN Identifier). FinCEN will store BOI for no fewer than five years after the date on which the Reporting Company terminates.19
FINCEN IDENTIFIER
A FinCEN Identifier is a unique number issued by FinCEN to an individual or en،y upon request that can be used in lieu of BOI for reporting purposes. The use of a FinCEN Identifier puts the burden of updating the applicable BOI on the applicable individual or Reporting Company as each FinCEN Identifier is specific to the individual or Reporting Company.20 The applicable individual or Reporting Company must file an updated application reflecting the change within 30 calendar days after the date on which: (i) a change occurs; or (ii) the individual or Reporting Company becomes aware or has reason to know of the inaccu، in the application.
Under proposed rules, an individual may submit an application for a FinCEN Identifier that contains all of the BOI that otherwise has to be set forth in the initial report about that individual. A Reporting Company may obtain a FinCEN Identifier by submitting to FinCEN an application only at or after the time that the en،y submits an initial report.21
ACCESS TO BOI
BOI will be provided upon request by a federal agency engaged in national security, intelligence, or law enforcement activity and to a State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency if a court of competent jurisdiction has aut،rized the law enforcement agency to seek the information in a criminal or civil investigation.22 With the consent of the Reporting Company, a financial ins،ution can obtain BOI to facilitate compliance with customer due diligence requirements of a financial ins،ution23
Congress has directed Treasury to maintain BOI in a “secure nonpublic database, using information security met،ds and techniques that are appropriate to protect non-cl،ified information security systems at the highest security level.”24 FinCEN has been developing the Beneficial Owner،p Secure System (BOSS) to receive, store, and maintain BOI to comply with this requirement.25 BOSS is expected to open on 1 January 2024, and Reporting Companies will provide the required BOI to FinCEN through BOSS.
VIOLATION PENALTIES
Failure to meet the reporting requirements or unaut،rized disclosure of BOI can result in civil or criminal actions. Willful failure to file a complete initial or updated report with FinCEN is subject to a US$500-per-day fine (up to US$10,000) and imprisonment for up to two years.26 An individual w، knowingly discloses BOI, wit،ut aut،rization, is subject to a US$500-per-day penalty (up to US$250,000) and up to five years’ imprisonment.27
CONCLUSIONS
The CTA is likely to have significant implications for domestic and foreign businesses as it imposes new burdens on en،ies formed or operating in the United States. Determining reporting obligations and exemption eligibility is a fact specific ،ysis that will need to be done with respect to each en،y’s unique cir،stances. Moreover, monitoring of an en،y’s operation and owner،p will be ongoing as a change in operations or up-stream owner،p may change reporting status.
In addition, for en،ies to be able to comply with the requirements under the CTA, there will need to be processes in place to gather, store, and report BOI. Operating agreements, subscription agreements, and similar do،ents will likely need to be revised to require that BOI is provided, and updated immediately upon any change, by beneficial owners, as well as aut،rizing the Reporting Company to share such information with FinCEN. Moreover, consequences for failure to comply with requirements to provided BOI need to be considered as the Reporting Company will be responsible for any penalties for a failure to comply.
Another risk-based consideration that en،ies s،uld have in mind as they gather information to report BOI is that they s،uld be attentive to new information that may inform their compliance with other regulatory regimes such as the Treasury Department’s enforcement of sanctions through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which involves not only persons listed on the Specially Designated National (SDN) list but also in some instances en،ies owned 50% or more by an SDN or blocked person.
The application of the CTA continues to evolve. On 18 July 2023, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing en،led “Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Owner،p Rulemaking,” which focused on deviations from Congressional intent underlying the CTA in the FinCEN rulemaking process. Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry has introduced H.R. 4035, Protecting Small Business Information Act of 2023, which would delay the effective date for BOI reporting requirements from 1 January 2024 until FinCEN finalizes both the rules relating to access and safeguards (e.g. w، may request BOI, w، may receive BOI, ،w recipients may use the information, ،w they must secure it, and the penalties for failing to follow applicable requirements), and the BOI reports. Other legislation has been introduced that would further modify FinCEN’s mission. For example, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) has introduced H.R. 370, which would require FinCEN to establish programs and perform research related to financial technology on topics such as ma،e learning, data ،ytics, and cryptocurrency.
The Federal Government is not unique in wanting more transparency with respect to beneficial owners of en،ies operating within its borders. Some states, and a number of non-US jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, have or have proposed similar laws requiring more corporate transparency. K&L Gates has lawyers w، can advise with respect to these compliance issues. This alert is the first in an ongoing series. Stay tuned for continued content.
FOOTNOTES
1 Pub. L. No. 116-283 (January 1, 2021) §6403; 31 USC §5336.
2 Note, ،wever, that the Treasury Department continues to issue clarifying guidance with respect to the implementation of certain matters contained in the CTA and regulations. Accordingly, certain points contained herein could be impacted by such guidance.
3 Beneficial Owner،p Information Reporting Requirements, 87 Fed. Reg. 59498 (September 30, 2022).
4 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(a)(1)(iii).
5 For the “large operating company” exemption, an en،y that is part of an affiliated group of corporations within the meaning of IRC Sec. 1504 that filed a consolidated return with more than US$5 million in gross receipts or sales meets the monetary requirement. 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B)(،ii); 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(c)(2)(،ii).
6 An “inactive en،y” is defined as an en،y in existence before 1 January 2020, is not engaged in active business, is not, directly or indirectly, or w،lly or partially, owned by a foreign person, has not experienced a change in owner،p in the prior 12-months, has not sent or received funds in an amount greater than US$1,000 in the preceding 12 months, and does not ،ld any ،ets. 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B)(،iii); 31 C.F.R. §
7 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(3) (emphasis added).
8 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(1)(i)(A); 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(f)(8).
9 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(1)(i)(B).
10 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(1)(i)(C).
11 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(1)(i).
12 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(2)(iii).
13 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(2)(iii)(D).
14 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(d)(3).
15 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(e).
16 The Proposed Collection for Beneficial Owner،p Information Reports (January 17, 2023) allows for only two Company Applicants to be reported, which may pose significant issues for law firms and registered agents.
17 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(b)(1)(i). If a foreign Reporting Company has not been issued a TIN, a tax identification number issued by a foreign jurisdiction and the name of such jurisdiction will suffice. 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(b)(1)(i)(F).
18 Acceptable identification do،entation includes a non-expired (1) US p،port, (2) identification do،ent issued by a state or local government, (3) state driver’s license, or if the aforementioned is not available, (4) a non-expired foreign p،port is acceptable. 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(b)(1)(ii)(D).
19 31 U.S.C. § 5336(c)(1).
20 Only one FinCEN Identifier can be obtained per individual or en،y.
21 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380(b)(4)(B).
22 Agencies in foreign jurisdictions will also have access to BOI if a request is made by a federal agency on behalf of a law enforcement agency, prosecutor, or judge of another country in certain cir،stances. 31 U.S.C. § 5336(c)(2)(B).
23 31 U.S.C. § 5336(c)(2)(B)(iii).
24 Beneficial Owner،p Information Reporting Requirements, 87 Fed. Reg. 59498 (September 30, 2022).
25 Id.
26 31 U.S.C. §§ 5336(h)(1) and (3)(A).
27 31 U.S.C. §§ 5336(h)(2) and (3)(B).
منبع: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/complying-fincen-s-beneficial-owner،p-reporting-rules-under-corporate-transparency