Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with National Cattlemen’s Association executive director of government affairs, Kent Bacus, about the Corporate Transparency Act, because while farmers and ranchers are off the hook for the time being, we must remain vigilant.
The U.S. District Court for the eastern district of Texas granted a preliminary injunction on implementing the Corporate Transparency Act to address questions about its constitutionality.
Bacus said, “Until the court can hear that further, they have granted a preliminary injunction. The federal government has appealed the court’s decision to the Fifth Circuit Court, so we are still waiting to see what is going to happen. We don’t know if the Fifth Circuit Court will hear that case by the end of this year, but there is a delay in implementing the Corporate Transparency Act for a little while.”
In response, the Treasury Department has suspended the reporting requirements for the January 1st deadline.
“We aren’t out of the woods just yet,” Bacus cautioned. “If the court determines that the preliminary injunction should be lifted, then it could be enforced right away. People must continue to pay close attention to this and consult with their tax preparers and attorneys to make sure that they are doing what is best for their operation.”
In the meantime, Bacus said now is a good time to find out for sure if your operation will need to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act should it move forward. Whether it moves forward or not, the Treasury Department will accept voluntary reports should a person choose to send them in before a court decision is made.
“The rollout of this has really been a flop on behalf of the Treasury Department because of the 32 million plus that are affected, less than eight to ten million have actually complied with the requirements,” Bacus said. “This is a big, big issue. Ultimately, it is going to take an act of Congress to amend this to make it right and not create a criminal class out of so many small businesses.”
NCBA has been supportive of several pieces of legislation in both the House and the Senate to delay implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act for a year, or, better yet, to repeal it entirely.
“As long as we can help Congress put a face on it and understand the significance of this, that is what it will take to get this over the line and have a meaningful fix in place,” Bacus stated. “The other key thing we are trying to do is communicate this to producers in the countryside, but right now, we really need people to speak up and engage with their members of Congress to let them know how this is going to impact them.”
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