Where last we left off in late December, a merits panel of the Fifth Circuit had reinstated a nationwide injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) that had been imposed by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued a stay of the injunction, putting the CTA back into effect.
It is important to note that there has still not been a holding on the merits as to the constitutionality of the CTA. The only issue that has been decided is whether FinCEN can enforce the law while the challenge works its way through the courts. And that may still be a long way off as the lower courts reach their determinations, which will certainly be appealed.
The most important question, since the January 1, 2025 filing deadline came and went while the injunction was in place, is what are the new filing deadlines. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not address that question. FinCEN will certainly issue an announcement in the next couple of days. But, any reporting company that has yet to make its initial filing should be collecting the information necessary to make a prompt filing since any extended deadline will likely be of short duration.
We will update you as soon as we know more. Our previous alerts discussing what information is required and how to file can be found on our website at https://ssrga.com/corporate-transparency-act/. Please reach out if you have any questions about your CTA filing obligations.
Mark Silverstein