SE Kansas News

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran of Kansas and Tim Scott of South Carolina, along with nine other Senate colleagues, have introduced legislation aimed at reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses. The Protect Small Businesses from Excessive Paperwork Act of 2025 proposes extending the deadline for filing beneficial ownership information (BOI) to January 1, 2026. This extension is intended to give the U.S. Department of Treasury more time to educate business owners about new reporting requirements, assess decisions made by the Biden administration regarding BOI, and ensure that small businesses are not penalized for violating complex regulations.

The legislation is supported by Senators Mike Rounds, Thom Tillis, Bill Hagerty, Cynthia Lummis, Katie Boyd Britt, Pete Ricketts, Jim Banks, Kevin Cramer, and James Lankford. Senator Moran emphasized the importance of this extension for small businesses: "Small businesses are the backbone of our rural communities, and with limited staff and resources, the current reporting requirements place an unnecessary burden on our businesses."

Senator Scott added that it is crucial for small businesses to have adequate time and information to comply with federal government reporting requirements: "This commonsense bill will ensure small businesses are protected and not overly burdened by unclear and unnecessarily complicated regulations – allowing them to focus on serving their customers while following the law."

A companion bill was led in the House by Representative Zach Nunn of Iowa and passed with unanimous support on Monday.

The Corporate Transparency Act became law as part of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act and introduced new BOI reporting requirements for businesses. However, during its implementation, FinCEN did not adequately inform small businesses about these changes. A survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 80% of its members were unaware of these new requirements.

Despite these challenges, on January 23, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to block enforcement of these filing obligations. As a result, small businesses nationwide must now comply immediately or face significant penalties.