This week, the US government ratcheted up debate on how far authorities can go in putting beneficial ownership data into the public domain.

US companies and US persons have permanent assurance that they don’t have to report beneficial ownership information to the US Department of the Treasury. This confirms moves made earlier this year to drastically narrow the scope of the Corporate Transparency Act.

However, as previously, foreign entities that are reporting companies must still report beneficial ownership information for foreign individuals, the Treasury said in a statement this week.

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing a “final rule that permanently removes the requirement for US companies and US persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act.”

FinCEN also said it will delete previously reported information about any individuals, such as company applicants, beneficial owners, or recipients of a FinCEN ID, that FinCEN "reasonably believes" is a US person (for example, if the information is linked to a US passport or US driver’s license).

“Today’s action is a victory for common sense and American small businesses,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said. “President Trump promised to cut red tape, and this final rule delivers. Treasury is eliminating a burdensome reporting requirement for millions of law-abiding business owners without compromising our national security.” 

In March, requirements of the CTA were rolled back temporarily until a final decision, which was made this week. 

Last week, this news service touched on the issue here, noting that the Paris-headquartered Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently gave the US a “Largely Compliant” verdict on transparency and control of beneficial ownership data.

There is still tension between calls for more transparency on beneficial ownership data, and privacy. For example, in the European Union, a move toward transparency under the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive was reversed in November 2022 by the Court of Justice of the European Union, citing privacy worries. Presently,the  use of such information is restricted to certain groups that must show a "legitimate" interest, which begs questions as to how that term is defined.

The US CTA became law at the start of 2025, a move by the former Biden administration.