Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 18

FEATURE
Demystifying
the Corporate
Transparency Act
for Small Businesses
By Jeremy Conrad
B
y January 1, 2025, approximately 32 million U.S.
small businesses - some 74,000 of them based
in the District of Columbia - must file beneficial
ownership information reports with the
U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The new requirement stems from enactment of the Corporate Transparency
Act (CTA) in 2021 to unmask shell companies used for illicit financing,
specifically money laundering and the funneling of funds to criminal
and terrorist organizations, and therefore render the financial system inhospitable
to corruption.
But as the initial reporting deadline approaches, questions abound for
small businesses covered by the CTA - those with fewer than 20 employees
- about what their obligations are under the new act. Adding
to the confusion, a federal district judge in Alabama ruled in March that
18 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
the CTA was an unconstitutional exercise of congressional power, and
the Treasury Department appealed in June.
" As a small business owner ... you're the office manager, you're the
accountant, you're the finance person - you're everything, " says Dr.
Zamantha Gobourne, who launched Gobourne Behavioral Health &
Counseling, PLLC in 2018 to help families and individuals dealing with
trauma, child welfare, foster care, and other issues. Uncertainty over
whether her clinic is covered by the CTA became an added source of
stress, adds Gobourne, a licensed independent clinical social worker in
the District of Columbia.
Fortunately for Gobourne and others, two educational clinics made possible
by a collaboration between the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center and business
law firm Honigman LLP provided some clarity.
" Honigman really went all in, " says Christine Kulumani, managing attorney
for the Pro Bono Center's Nonprofit & Small Business Legal Assistance
Programs. " They recruited folks from their office to participate in the clinics,
set aside time to create a volunteer worksheet where they took notes,
and developed the framework for how the clinic would be run. The Pro
Bono Center was there for client intake - to do the stuff that we know
how to do - but they were the content experts and figured out how
things needed to work. "
Image: iStock

Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024

Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024
Digital Extras
From Our President
Calendar
Practice Management
Toward Well-Being
Court Simplified feature
Erin Larkin feature
Navigating the Court feature
Demystifying the Corporate Transparency Act feature
Erin Larkin feature
Data Breach Readiness feature
Member Spotlight - Murray Scheel
On Further Review
Newly Minted
Worth Reading
Attorney Briefs
Speaking of Ethics
Disciplinary Summaries
Pro Bono Effect
A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 1
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 2
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 3
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Digital Extras
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 5
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Calendar
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Toward Well-Being
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Court Simplified feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 11
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 12
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 13
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Erin Larkin feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 15
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Navigating the Court feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 17
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Demystifying the Corporate Transparency Act feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 19
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Erin Larkin feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 21
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Data Breach Readiness feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 23
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 24
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 25
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Member Spotlight - Murray Scheel
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 27
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - On Further Review
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 29
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Newly Minted
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 31
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 33
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 35
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Speaking of Ethics
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 37
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 39
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 40
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 41
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 43
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 44
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 45
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 46
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 47
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Cover3
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Cover4
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