(John Kartch | Americans for Tax Reform) – President Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent took action this week to protect American small businesses as the unconstitutional and misnamed “Corporate Transparency Act” deadline approached.
As ATR noted last week, the CTA would create an enormous federal database filled with 30 million driver license image scans of American small business owners, and give IRS agents full on-demand access to these files.
Taxpayer privacy is simply not a priority for the IRS. The IRS cannot even be bothered to properly use secure bins when handling printouts of your most sensitive information.
The new federal driver license database created by the CTA also increases the risk of identity theft, and such cases took the IRS an average of 676 days to solve in 2024.
President Trump in Dec. 2020 vetoed the CTA but the measure was tucked inside the must-pass defense authorization bill (NDAA) and Trump’s veto was overridden by congress.
As the bill’s implementation date approached, it became evident that very few members read the bill and understood the burden it would place on small businesses.
As the deadline approached, an outcry from small business men and women became more pronounced. See the testimonials below:
- “This is an invasion of our privacy as a private company and it’s extra regulation that I do not have the time to deal with. I have to focus on sales and keeping our company alive.”[Link]
- “I am very weary of having my sensitive personal data on a Treasury database considering how easy it was for hackers last year to get into it.”[Link]
- “We have an LLC with 2 members: my sister in law and me, that owns a vacation house. We would have to fill it out. Absurd.”[Link]
- “Please fix this. I own a small business with two partners. Having to provide this information is definitely an overreach.” [Link]
- “My HOA Board volunteers must now register with a FEDERAL database… just because they want to keep our community looking nice. The Corporate Transparency Act creates a FEDERAL database of ALL business owners. Many don’t want personal info on a(nother) fed database.” [Link]
- “I have to update this anytime my contact info changes? I’ll never remember to do this! WTF?!”[Link]
- “I hope the new administration slashes this stupid rule.” [Link]
- “I can’t believe our elected leaders would do this to us.” [Link]
- “The Corporate Transparency Act is an added burden for small business owners nationwide, including farmers and ranchers. With unclear guidance and a lack of public awareness, businesses of all sizes are struggling to comply with new BOI requirements and are quickly approaching a deadline that bears criminal consequences.” [Link]
- “The small businesses of America are still struggling to recover from the pandemic. We are not busy laundering money; we are busy trying to survive! We employ over half the people in America, and one by one, we represent the American entrepreneurial spirit. Set us free to thrive!”[Link]
- “This absolutely needs to be repealed now. Yet another onerous burden on small businesses in favor of large corporations while we are all struggling to survive after four long years of Bidenomics. Not good.” [Link]
- “I discovered this law purely by accident just browsing YouTube one day & I am sure there are plenty other very small businesses like mine who are in jeopardy of huge penalties over something that they have never even heard of. That could easily have been me. Please reverse this!”[Link]
- “We are being asked to fill this information out even though our business was closed in 2020…all because we did not file ONE piece of paper when we dissolved our business. It’s ridiculous.”[Link]
- “I am a volunteer for an HOA and was struggling with my decision to comply or resign.”[Link]
- “Federal Corporate Transparency Act requires HOA board members to register with the federal government. The consensus was that it will become almost impossible to get homeowners to volunteer to be on the board if this requirement is true. Please end.” [Link]
- “As a small business owner myself, this BOI requirement is government overreach at its finest. Please get rid of this.” [Link]
While Trump takes steps to protect small businesses, the unconstitutional CTA is also being challenged in court.
Americans for Tax Reform urges full repeal of the CTA via the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act sponsored by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
