A Missouri small-business group has joined a nationwide push urging Congress to permanently repeal a federal mandate requiring companies to report personal data about the people who own or control them.
Known as Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting, the requirement is designed to help authorities identify shell companies used for financial fraud. U.S. businesses are currently exempt under a Treasury Department rule, but the law is still on the books.
Brad Jones, Missouri state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said the mandate should be permanently removed.
"We need to put a stake in it, kill it, be done with it so that we've got at least some understanding in our hearts that this thing is gone and is not going to come back to haunt us with another administration," Jones asserted.
The law was enacted in 2021 and took effect in 2024. Many business leaders called the requirements invasive, and Jones added the organization wants previously submitted information destroyed, citing privacy and cybersecurity concerns. Backers of the requirements contended they are another useful tool to help catch financial criminals.
Jones pointed out reinstating the requirement could also create added costs and compliance challenges for small-business owners, especially in Missouri.
"Almost 82% of the total number of businesses in the state have less than 25 employees," Jones explained. "So that kind of gives you an idea of just what the impact would be on Missouri businesses if we don't get rid of this."
There are bills pending in Congress to repeal the requirement, but Jones said they have not advanced.
Missouri News Service originally published this story.
