WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in introducing commonsense legislation to ease burdens and shield small businesses from excessive legal red tape. The Protect Small Businesses from Excessive Paperwork Act of 2025 would extend the filing deadline for businesses to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) until January 1, 2026.
Extending the filing deadline would give the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the U.S. Department of Treasury more time to inform business owners of the new reporting requirements, assess Biden administration BOI decisions and make certain small businesses are not held liable for unclear and unnecessarily complicated regulations.
“Small businesses are crucial for our way of life in South Dakota,” said Rounds. “Our state is home to nearly 90,000 small businesses that employ a total of 200,000 South Dakotans. It’s unacceptable to give small business owners new requirements without adequate preparation and notice. Our legislation would extend the filing deadline until 2026, giving FinCEN more time to get resources to business owners and allow them extra time to complete necessary paperwork in compliance with federal law.”
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we need to ensure they have the necessary time and information to comply with reporting requirements from the federal government,” said Scott. “This commonsense bill will ensure small businesses are protected and not overly burdened by unclear and unnecessarily complicated regulations – allowing them to focus on serving their customers while following the law.”
This legislation is cosponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Katie Boyd Britt (R-Ala.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), all members of the Senate Banking Committee, as well as Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.). Representative Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) led companion legislation in the House, which passed on February 10, 2025, by a vote of 408-0.
Rounds was an early leader in warning about this pending deadline. In July 2023, he introduced the Protecting Small Business Information Act, requiring the Department of Treasury to delay the enforcement date of January 1, 2024. Rounds also led a bicameral letter signed by 79 other members to then Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, requesting that implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act be delayed.
