NSBU v. Treasury concerns Congress's Authority to Impose Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Under the Commerce Clause
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 20, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case National Small Business United, et al. v. U.S. Department of Treasury at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case concerns the Corporate Transparency Act (the Act), which created the beneficial ownership reporting requirements, and questions Congress’s authority to regulate noneconomic activity under the Commerce Clause. NFIB filed the brief with the National Association of Home Builders of the United States, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
“This law places an immense burden on small business owners. Not only must they provide their private information to be catalogued, but well-meaning owners can face egregious penalties for any paperwork errors that are mistakenly made,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “The fact of the matter is, these intrusive reporting requirements have little to do with regulating economic activity, which is required under the Commerce Clause. Small businesses need regulatory relief from their lawmakers, not further regulation.”
NFIB’s brief argued two main points: 1) to pass the substantial effects test under the Commerce Clause, Congress must be regulating economic activity, which is the introduction, production, or exchange of goods or services, and 2) because the Act regulates noneconomic activity, it fails the Commerce Clause’s substantial effects test. .
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.
