Just three days after the U .S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reinstated a rule requiring businesses including farms to file beneficial ownership information, the same court has now reversed itself giving businesses a reprieve from filing requirements. The Fifth Circuit last Thursday issued a new order to expedite a hearing on a case out of Texas tied to beneficial ownership information, and in doing so, the Fifth Circuit vacated its own ruling from Monday.
Essentially, the court vacated the federal government’s motion to stay a preliminary injunction against enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act. Under the latest reversal by the appeals court, a nationwide injunction out of a Texas federal court in early December will continue to block the Treasury Department from enforcing the act.
The rules affect roughly 230,000 farm operations, according to an analysis in October by the American Farm Bureau Federation. And, overall the rules affect more than 32 million businesses.
The Corporate Transparency Act was passed in 2021. It requires businesses to provide their ownership information to the U .S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. It was created to curb financial crimes such as money laundering and fraud.
I’m Lorrie Boyer reporting for AgNet West.