| Charleston, W.Va. – While the country celebrates National Entrepreneurship Week, Secretaries of State and Chief Business Officials from across the country have come together to request that President Donald Trump end unnecessary burdens placed on business owners by the previous administration. This week, WV Secretary of State Kris Warner, along with 19 other state officials, sent a letter to President Trump requesting that his administration work with Congress to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Warner says that the CTA requires duplicative registration and ownership disclosure requirements for businesses and tacks on severe penalties for missed deadlines. According to Warner, it is estimated that there are more than 31 million businesses of all sizes in the United States, with over 153,000 registered to operate in West Virginia alone. Many of those are subject to the CTA. In their letter, Warner and his colleagues contest that the implementation of the CTA has been fragmented, with unreliable guidance and little to no support for business owners seeking clarification. “In fact, you can’t even talk to a real person to get answers on compliance. You have to communicate with a chatbot,” Warner said. “The best information we can get is from a webpage that’s updated each time the CTA is found unconstitutional or stayed in court battles.” In their letter to President Trump, the 20 state officials suggest that the federal agency responsible for enforcing the CTA has failed to provide clear guidance or sufficient support, leaving businesses confused and struggling to comply. “Clearly, that approach is completely unacceptable given the complex nature and potential liabilities associated with violations or noncompliance with the CTA. It is imperative that our states’ business owners receive the necessary relief they deserve from this overly burdensome act,” the letter states. The letter further states, “most of us are of the opinion that the federal government already has all of this information at its disposal; thus, the CTA simply acts as yet another hook for the federal government to pursue and/or punish hardworking Americans with which it disagrees.” “This is nothing more than ‘Big Brother Overreach’ on our small businesses, and it needs to stop,” Secretary Warner said. “Until then, my office will continue providing updated information to our business community, who are encouraged to monitor their email inboxes and check our website for recent news.” For more information on ongoing litigation and reporting deadlines concerning the CTA, view the WV Secretary of State’s Office’s landing page here. |
