Cybersecurity Policy Report, Senate bill would narrow beneficial ownership information reporting requirements, (Apr 30, 2026)

By Charles A. Menke, J.D.

The legislation essentially codifies a 2025 FinCEN rule that limits data collection under the Corporate Transparency Act to foreign reporting companies.

Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) has introduced legislation that would prevent the Treasury Department from collecting the personal information of small business owners under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) . The bill (S.4419) would amend 31 U.S.C. § 5336 to require that only foreign entities report beneficial ownership information. Joining Kennedy in introducing the bill were Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Jim Justice (R-W. Va.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

The CTA, which was enacted in 2021, mandated that the federal government collect Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) for certain individuals, including small business owners’ full legal names, dates of birth, addresses and unique identifying numbers. In March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule limiting the reporting requirements exclusively to foreign reporting companies. Kennedy’s bill would codify FinCEN’s rule and require FinCEN to delete any data of U.S. citizens that has already been collected.

According to Kenndy, “the legislation would save taxpayers an average of $9 billion per year and save U.S. small businesses $6.7 billion over 10 years. Kennedy added that the bill is supported by the National Federation of Independent Business.

Companies: National Federation of Independent Business

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