Vice President Kamala Harris and her presidential campaign have not responded to Tennessee Star when asked if he regrets his role in helping pass the Business Transparency Act of 2021, which could result in stiff fines or prison time for 33 million small business owners in the United States next year.
Harris was one of 86 senators who he voted In December 2020, he championed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021, which included the Corporate Transparency Act, after Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) successfully introduced the bill, which failed to pass as stand-alone legislation in 2019.
Corporate Transparency Act requires Businesses with combined gross sales of less than $5 million must file a federal form with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network by January 2025 containing beneficial ownership information.
Small business owners who fail to comply could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Brown he claimed The bill offers “new tools to combat anonymous front companies and big banks that enable criminals or have lax anti-money laundering compliance programs.”
Despite the looming deadline, Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz said: Michael Patrick Leahy Show On Monday, a survey conducted by his organization revealed that most small business owners must comply with the law are not aware of its existence.
“There will be millions and millions of small business owners who will be fully exposed to the federal government knocking on their doors, arresting them or fining them,” Ortiz told Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief Star.
Harris’ campaign did not respond to Star when asked if the vice president regrets her vote in 2020 or if she would work to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act if elected president in November.
Brown, who is currently locked in a tight re-election race against Republican businessman Bernie Moreno, also did not respond to the Star after his campaign team was asked if he would change his mind and vote to repeal the law.
Although Brown was one of the sponsors of the bill in the U.S. Senate in 2019, the provisions fell silent until December 2020, when attached in the 2021 NDAA initially vetoed by former President Donald Trump. Brown and Harris were among the Democrats who voted to reverse Trump’s veto and allow the bill to go into effect.
Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration are often accused by Trump and his supporters of using the federal government as a weapon against their political opponents, and Ortiz noted that most of the small business owners threatened under the Corporate Transparency Act are Republicans during his appearance at Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“About 70 percent [small businesses]based on our latest estimates, they are actually Republican. So it’s interesting that 70 percent of the companies that are there could be targeted because they are Republican.”
Ortiz added: “It wouldn’t be surprising if it actually happened. They’re starting to put together a list, and it’s basically a target list for the federal government.”
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Photo “Kamala Harris” by Kamala Harris, photo: Kamala Harris
