📰 🔥 U.S. Treasury drops enforcement of controversial ownership database crafted for business transparency 🕵️♀️💼
📉 Business rule touted for curbing money laundering collapses! 💸
The U.S. Treasury Department recently doused the flames on a 🔥 hot controversy by revealing it would no longer enforce a Biden-era business rule, originally aimed at cracking down on money laundering and shell company formation. This bombshell was dropped in a Sunday evening news release that left many small businesses breathing a sigh of relief. 🌬️💼
❌ Rule remains despite lack of enforcement ⛔
Despite attempting to overturn the rule in the courts, small businesses have yet to succeed. Yet, the suspension of enforcement was met with praise from none other than President Donald Trump on his Truth Social media site, where he called the database "outrageous and invasive." 📢👀
💰 The cost for business and benefits for law enforcement 🚔
Back in September 2022, when the Treasury Department first started rulemaking for this database, the intended goal was to gather personal info on the owners of at least 32 million U.S. businesses in the fight against illegal company formations and illicit finance.
The rule targeted mainly small American businesses with fewer than 20 employees, as shell companies frequently have limited staffing. According to former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the regulatory burden would be tiny with a price tag of about $85 per business. A small price to pay for the immense benefits to law enforcement in tracking money launderers and other criminals. 👮💼
🏛️ Legal tussle and the hint of victory 🎉
The rule and its underpinning legislation - the Corporate Transparency Act, an anti-money laundering statute passed in 2021 - has seen its share of courtrooms. In 2022, a lawsuit by a small business lobbying group sought to block the requirement for businesses to register with the government.
Business leaders have been vocal about their privacy and security concerns over the database, and many see it as duplicative of other government-maintained corporate databases.
"Today's action is part of President Trump's bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, especially those affecting small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy," U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
🤔 Questions to Ponder...
Despite the excitement, we're led to wonder, is this retreat from regulation truly an unfettered victory or could we see resurgence in financial crime as a consequence? 🧐💸