Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

SMALL BUSINESS ALERT: January 1, 2024 - Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting

Client Alert
October 13, 2023

Beginning on January 1, 2024, many small businesses across the United States will have to report personal information about their owners, beneficial owners, and others who own or exercise control over the company. The information will have to be reported to, and maintained by, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) as part of the Beneficial Ownership Information Rule. FinCEN is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Rule was adopted as part of the Corporate Transparency Act passed by Congress in 2021. The required reporting is designed to make it more difficult for bad actors to shelter or hide finances through shell companies or complicated ownership structures. All domestic and foreign corporations, LLC’s, or other entities created by the filing of a document with the Secretary of State or similar office in the United States must file, unless it qualifies for one of the several enumerated exemptions identified in the Rule.  A business required to file (a “reporting company”) will need to include certain specified personal information concerning:

  • The business itself.
  • Any owners holding 25% or more of the stock, voting rights, or ownership interests in the company.
  • Any other individuals (such as senior officers or other important decision makers), whether or not they are owners, who exercise substantial control over the company’s finances, structure, or business operations.
  • Individuals who filed, or directed the filing, of the organizing documents that created or registered the company (for entities formed after 1/1/2024).

The personal information for any individual required to be disclosed includes the individuals full name and address, date of birth, and other identifying information such as a passport number, driver’s license number, etc.

Because the intent of the legislation is to gain information from small businesses, those businesses existing on January 1, 2024 will have one (1) year to comply. Any businesses formed after January 1, 2024 will need to disclose and file the beneficial owner information within thirty (30) days of the entities formation. In addition, any changes in the information disclosed must be updated within thirty (30) days.

A failure to report complete or updated information to FinCEN, or an attempt to provide false or fraudulent information, may result in civil penalties of up to $500 for each day that the violation continues, or criminal penalties including imprisonment for up to two (2) years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Senior officers of an entity that fails to file a required report may be held accountable for that failure.

Business owners should act now to identify whether their company must report and if so, which individuals within the business entity are required to disclose the personal information designated under the Rule. For more information about The Rule or how to comply, please contact BMD Member Blake Gerney at brgerney@bmdllc.com. 

small businessBlake R. GerneyBeneficial Ownership Information Reportingbusiness and corporate law
Client Alert

Corporate Transparency Act: Business Owners Must Act Now

July 10, 2024The Corporate Transparency Act requires all reporting companies to file their Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report by year-end to avoid penalties. Companies formed before January 1, 2024, have less than six months to comply. Learn more in a client alert by BMD Member Blake Gerney.Client Alert

New Medicare Billing Rules: What MFTs, MHCs, and IOP Providers Need to Know

July 9, 2024Starting January 1, 2024, Medicare began covering services provided to Medicare beneficiaries by marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) services. With this change, Medicare has become the primary payer for these services.Client Alert

Chevron Doctrine No More: What the Supreme Court’s Ruling Means for Agency Authority

July 2, 2024On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court invalidated the Chevron doctrine, nearly 40 years after it first took effect.Client Alert

Ohio Board of Pharmacy Update: Key Regulatory Changes and Proposals You Need to Know

June 26, 2024The Ohio Board of Pharmacy (BOP) has rescinded certain OAC rules (OAC 4729:5-18-01 through 4729:5-18-06), removing regulations on office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) clinics. The rescissions took effect on June 3, 2024. The BOP also published a new rule, OAC 4729:8-5-01, which sets explicit reporting guidelines for licensed dispensaries and became effective on June 7, 2024.Client Alert

LGBTQIA+ Patients and Discrimination in Healthcare

June 6, 2024In early April, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a study outlining the challenges that LGBT adults face in the United States related to healthcare. According to the study, LGBT patients are “twice as likely as non-LGBT adults to report negative experiences while receiving health care in the last three years, including being treated unfairly or with disrespect (33% v. 15%) or having at least one of several other negative experiences with a provider (61% v. 31%), including a provider assuming something about them without asking, suggesting they were personally to blame for a health problem, ignoring a direct request or question, or refusing to prescribe needed pain medication.”
Older posts