House Republicans Criticize FinCEN Proposal on Beneficial Ownership Disclosure

House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) submitted a comment letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das criticizing FinCEN' s proposed rule concerning access to, and protection of, beneficial ownership information (see related coverage).

The letter highlighted specific concerns with the level of disclosure and privacy protections included in the proposed rule and the conditions under which financial institutions could access the beneficial ownership information that FinCEN collects. The Representatives said that small business beneficial ownership information should be treated similarly to individual tax return information as set forth in 26 U.S.C. 6103 ("Confidentiality and Disclosure of Returns and Return Information"), and argued that FinCEN's proposal, as currently written, deviates from the statute and congressional intent.

The Representatives also proposed that FinCEN establish a process that makes clear when a business has provided consent to a financial institution to access its beneficial ownership information and when that consent has been revoked.