Supreme Court allows small business registration rule to take effect, aimed at money laundering

The Supreme Court has revived a requirement that owners of millions of small businesses register with an arm of the Treasury Department under an anti-money laundering law. The justices on Thursday granted an emergency plea made by the Justice Department in the waning days of the Biden administration to allow enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act, enacted in 2021 to crack down on the illicit use of anonymous shell companies. Owners of an estimated 32.6 million small businesses must register personal information with Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. The information includes photo IDs and home addresses. It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will enforce the registration requirement, which Republican-led states and business groups have opposed.