U.S. Senator Mike Lee announced on Apr. 29 that he has cosponsored legislation with Senator John Kennedy aimed at stopping the federal government from collecting personal Beneficial Ownership Information from small business owners and deleting any such data already held.
The proposed bill responds to concerns about regulatory burdens placed on small businesses by the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires owners to submit private information such as full legal names, birth dates, addresses, and unique identifying numbers. Supporters say the measure would reduce paperwork and protect privacy for millions of American entrepreneurs.
“The federal bureaucracy loves to bury small businessowners in paperwork that costs time, money, and even their private information,” said Senator Mike Lee. “I have long opposed the Corporate Transparency Act’s overregulation and its Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirement and have ardently advocated for repeal. I’m proud to cosponsor Senator Kennedy’s critical legislation to end these burdensome reporting rules for American-based businesses.”
Senator John Kennedy said, “When an obscure government policy requires small business owners to fork over personal data that even our government admits it doesn’t need, it’s time to change that policy. That’s why I’m leading the bill to permanently end this burdensome mandate and keep law-abiding Americans’ personal information out of a database it should never have been in.” The legislation is also supported by Senators Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn, Shelley Moore Capito, Roger Marshall, Jim Justice, Pete Ricketts, Jim Banks, Tim Sheehy and endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business.
Other senators offered similar reasons for backing the proposal. “Texas is home to more than 3.5 million small businesses…We should be protecting their privacy and reducing regulatory burdens on American small businesses,” said Senator Ted Cruz. Senator Marsha Blackburn added that heavy compliance requirements distract owners from running their companies: “It is essential that we repeal and remove this requirement from FinCEN.” According to Senator Shelley Moore Capito: “For too long…Americans—including many West Virginians—have faced overly broad reporting requirements that do little to enhance security while also exposing their sensitive personal information.” Senator Roger Marshall noted feedback from his state: “I’ve heard loud and clear from Kansas small business owners that the Corporate Transparency Act’s reporting requirements are too costly and too burdensome…this bill…will save American small businesses billions of dollars.”
Under current law established by the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021, these disclosures were required; however in March 2025 a Treasury Department rule limited mandatory filings mostly to foreign companies while pausing much domestic data collection. The new legislation would make this change permanent while instructing authorities like FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) not only halt but delete existing records collected under prior rules.
Proponents argue ending this process could save taxpayers an average $9 billion per year as well as $6.7 billion for U.S. small businesses over ten years.
Lee serves as U.S senator for Utah according to his official website. He has championed constitutional principles including individual liberty according to his official website, promotes limited government policies according to his official website, grew up in Provo as a fourth-generation Utahn according to his official website, is son of Rex E Lee—a legal scholar—and earned degrees at Brigham Young University according to his official website.
