U.S. companies and individuals no longer face invasive and intrusive reporting requirements, with failure to comply carrying steep financial penalties; franchise small businesses free to focus on what they do best: creating jobs and economic mobility

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, the International Franchise Association (IFA) issued the following statement praising the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for removing the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA):

“IFA has been fighting this unconstitutional and invasive mandate from the beginning, and we commend the Trump Administration for ending this long national nightmare,” said Matt Haller, IFA President and CEO. “Not only would the reporting burdens and excessive penalties have fallen on the shoulders of law-abiding Main Street entrepreneurs, but the uncertainty around its future was wreaking havoc and confusion among the 32 million small businesses, including 831,000 local franchises, who stood to be impacted. Freed from the weight of this unnecessary government overreach, franchise small businesses can devote more energy to what they do best: providing economic mobility for the nearly 9 million jobs our model supports.”

Under the CTA, nearly all franchised businesses were slated to file an annual BOI. Failure to comply exposed small business owners to potential fines up to $10,000. The latest decision from FinCEN is consistent with Treasury’s March 2 announcement that it would not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the CTA against U.S. citizens or domestic companies.

In January 2025, IFA led a coalition letter in support of H.R. 8147, the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act, which would have repealed the CTA.

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About the International Franchise Association:

Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the approximately 831,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.8 million direct jobs, $896.9 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.