Judge reinstates CTA reporting law; new deadline set

Published 4:25 pm Wednesday, February 19, 2025

The Treasury Department reset the deadline for businesses to report under the Corporate Transparency Act to March 21 after a federal judge lifted his order that had been blocking the law.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle in Tyler, Texas, said Feb. 18 lifting the stay was consistent with a ruling in January by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Treasury Department responded by setting a new deadline for an estimated 32.6 million entities to file reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Over the next month, the agency will assess whether to change the deadline again and will look this year at revising reporting requirements to make them less burdensome on small businesses, according to a statement.

The CTA has come under attack from farm groups, business organizations and others. The law requires the owners and key employees of small corporations to submit photos and personal information to federal financial crime investigators.

Congress passed the law to help U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies investigate money laundering that finances high-level crimes, such as human trafficking, drug smuggling and tax evasion.

Kernodle in January ruled the law exceeds Congress’ authority to regulate commerce, foreign affairs and tax collections and imposed a nationwide stay on the reporting deadline.

Kernodle’s ruling was the latest in a series of conflicting decisions that left the law in limbo. The Supreme Court in January lifted an injunction against the law issued by another judge, but was not asked to address Kernodle’s ruling.

The Trump administration signaled it may revise the law to focus on entities that pose significant risks to national security, but asked Kernodle to lift his stay while it assessed the law.

House and Senate Republicans have introduced legislation to repeal the CTA. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and other Democrats have defended the law in friend-of-the-court briefs.

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