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January 3, 2025
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) has been on a journey this past month with a whirlwind of court rulings: halted by a federal district court, reinstated by the Fifth Circuit’s motions panel, had its reporting deadlines extended by FinCEN, and then halted again by the Fifth Circuit’s merits panel. Amidst all this back-and-forth, predicting what will happen next can be challenging, but here are a few possible scenarios.

(1) The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Briefing…
Continue Reading The CTA Journey – It Goes On and On and On

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a nationwide injunction on the reporting of beneficial ownership information under the Corporate Transparency Act. The injunction issued by a Texas federal court in early December had been overturned last week by a different Fifth Circuit panel.

For now, reporting companies are (again) no longer required to report beneficial ownership information, but reporting of beneficial ownership under the CTA could be required in the future.  The Fifth Circuit will hear arguments…
Continue Reading Corporate Transparency Act Blocked Again

December 27, 2024
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has once again vacated enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its reporting requirements. This latest decision temporarily halts the mandate for entities to disclose beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), reinstating a pause on compliance obligations.

The appellate court’s panel emphasized preserving the “constitutional status quo” while evaluating substantive legal challenges to the CTA. This follows a sequence of rulings that…
Continue Reading Oops! …The Court of Appeals Did It Again – CTA Halted!

On December 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed a preliminary injunction of the Corporate Transparency Act. As a result, the U.S. federal government is again able to enforce the CTA, which includes the reporting of beneficial ownership information. Shortly after the Fifth Circuit issued the stay, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network extended the filing deadlines for certain reporting companies to submit beneficial ownership information. The response to the Fifth Circuit’s decision by…
Continue Reading Corporate Transparency Act Reinstated With New Reporting Deadlines

FinCEN has extended the reporting deadline for companies created or registered before January 1, 2024, to January 13, 2025. In an alert posted Tuesday night, FinCEN recognized that “reporting companies may need additional time to comply given the period when the preliminary injunction had been in effect.” Previously, the reporting deadline for these companies was January 1, 2025.

FinCEN also extended the deadline to January 13, 2025, for companies created on or after September 4, 2024, that had…
Continue Reading FinCEN Announces New January 13, 2025, Deadline for Most CTA Filings

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) and its reporting requirements are back in effect. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the U.S. Government’s motion for an emergency stay of the nationwide CTA injunction. This means the federal injunction that sought to overrule or pause the CTA is temporarily halted. As a result, reporting companies formed before January 1, 2024 are once again obligated to complete their required CTA beneficial owner information reports by the January 1, 2025 reporting…
Continue Reading The CTA is Back, Back Again

The anticipated Emergency Rule further outlining the Department of Revenue’s policies, procedures, and interpretations of Wis. Stat. Sec. 125 was just released! If you are a brewery, winery, distillery, or wholesale permittee in the State of Wisconsin this emergency rule applies to you and will impact your business. We will have more information about the Emergency Rule and its impacts in the coming days. However, for now, you may read the rule in its entirety at the link below:…
Continue Reading Emergency Rule 2419 Released by Wisconsin Department of Revenue

Beginning January 1, 2025, Wisconsin will implement a new excise tax on electric vehicle (EV) charging stations under 2023 Wisconsin Act 121. If your business owns, operates, manages, or leases EV charging stations, here’s what you should know:

Who Must Register: Any business delivering electricity through EV charging stations must register with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue using the Online Business Tax Registration system. This requirement applies regardless of whether:

    • The charging station is open to the public or

…
Continue Reading Reminder: Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Charging Station Excise Tax and Registration Requirements Begin Jan. 1, 2025

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My pause on BOI blogging content was solid, but recent events in federal court have caused me to spring back into action. For those of you tuning back in, this post relates to our firm’s series about the Corporate Transparency Act and Beneficial Ownership Reporting. Please follow the link here to see all our firm’s posts on this topic.

When I last posted about legal challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act in federal court (see here), a…
Continue Reading The Corporate Transparency Act is Here (Kinda). Now It’s in Court (Again)?

What happened?

On December 3, 2024, a federal district court in Texas found the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) to be unconstitutional and issued a nation-wide order to ban it. The case before the court was Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et. al, Case No. 4:24-cv-478 (E.D. Tex.). This means that companies do not need to comply with the CTA’s reporting deadlines.

What is the Corporate Transparency Act?

The CTA would have required the vast…
Continue Reading No Need to Report – CTA Blocked

It is safe to say that the Federal Bench in Texas is at it again.  Just a few months ago, the Northern District of Texas struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s nationwide ban on non-compete agreements just days before it was set to take effect.  Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 3:24–cv–986-E (N.D. Tex.).  Now, on December 4, 2024, the Eastern District of Texas just issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the Federal Government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency…
Continue Reading Don’t Mess with Texas: Corporate Transparency Act Is Unenforceable (for now)

The U.S. Government has appealed a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). As a result, the case is now headed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Currently, reporting companies are not required to submit filings. FINCEN has acknowledged this in a recent update to its website, stating: “Reporting companies are not currently required to file a BOIR and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while…
Continue Reading U.S. Government Appeals Block on CTA Enforcement

On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a preliminary, nationwide injunction enjoining the United States federal government from enforcing the  Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), which includes the reporting of beneficial ownership information (“BOI Report”) to the U.S. Federal Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). The court’s reasoning revolved around the constitutionality of the CTA. The immediate impact is that companies are, at least temporarily, no longer required to file a BOI Report with…
Continue Reading Corporate Transparency Act Injunction Alert

The ever-changing landscape of state government requires businesses across all industries to stay informed on the happenings in Madison. Welcome to the November 2024 issue of the Capitol Connection.

In this issue:

Election 2024: State Legislature

After the implementation of new legislative maps, months of campaigning, heated rhetoric, a barrage of unsolicited text messages, and lots of junk mail, the 2024 election has concluded.

After the votes were tallied:

  • Democrats gained 10 seats in the Wisconsin Assembly
  • Republicans maintain

…
Continue Reading Capitol Connection, November 2024

Alarm Clock on Orange Color Background

Late last week a federal district court in Texas struck down the Department of Labor (DOL) rule that was set to increase the salary thresholds again for exempt white-collar executive, professional and administrative employees (EAP) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The court ruling not only impacts the salary increase scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025, but also invalidates the prior salary increase that took effect in July, 2024.

In April 2024, the DOL passed a…
Continue Reading Texas Court Strikes Down DOL Overtime Rule

On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgement to the Plaintiffs in a case involving a challenge to the Department of Labor Rule (“DOL Rule”) which increased the “minimum weekly” salary level for exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). In the decision, the District Court enjoined the weekly pay rate increases for July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025 on a nation-wide basis. This decision leaves the…
Continue Reading Federal District Court Halts Nationwide DOL Rule Increasing Salary Minimum Threshold for Exempt Employees