You might be thinking, “WTF is going on?”—and trust us, we’re right there with you!
We know our last article about the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) mentioned that filings had resumed. But in the latest twist, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Merits Panel reinstated the trial court’s nationwide preliminary injunction on FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports.
What does this mean for you?
If you haven't filed your BOI report, then hang tight - this is confirmation that you are not required to file the report.
And if you've already filed, great! You can ignore all these updates (or make some popcorn and sit back and watch the drama - completely your choice).
What about penalties?
Right now the law is on pause, so there's no penalties. And here's the thing... with so much confusion out there, we feel that FinCEN would struggle collecting on those penalties if a business is trying to be compliant. So sit tight, we'll keep you informed.
What's next?
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Merits Panel will eventually hear the full arguments and issue a final order (as of this writing we don't know when this will happen, though we suspect it will be fairly quick with all the uncertainty out there... then again it's the government, so who knows - we'll keep you informed).
They can continue to appeal to the next appeals court or possibly up to the Supreme Court. There's a few paths and we suspect one of the two sides will continue to appeal until the Supreme Court weighs in.
The bottom line
The Corporate Transparency Act is on hold again, so if you haven't filed your BOI report, you won't be penalized.
In the meantime, keep an eye on these unfolding developments. Our goal is to ensure you have the information you need to stay informed and prepared for any changes ahead. Stay tuned for further updates as the situation evolves.
