Trump administration finalizes ownership reporting exemption for US firms
The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized a rule exempting U.S. companies and individuals from reporting beneficial ownership information to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, rolling back requirements established under a 2021 law targeting illicit finance.
FinCEN will still require foreign reporting companies to disclose beneficial ownership information for foreign individuals, Treasury said.
“Treasury is eliminating a burdensome reporting requirement for millions of law-abiding business owners without compromising our national security,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Beneficial owners are those with at least a 25% ownership interest or “substantial control” over a business. The move, first announced more than a year ago, is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to curtail anti-corruption measures.
FinCEN had implemented the reporting rules under former President Joe Biden as part of anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering efforts. Treasury said it will delete previously reported information on Americans from its beneficial ownership database.
Under the new rule, foreign companies also will not have to report Americans who helped them register to do business in the U.S. Foreign pooled investment vehicles registered in the U.S. are also exempt from reporting information on U.S. persons who control them.
