J. Hill

Politicians always promise to stand with Main Street. Thankfully, Congressman French Hill is fighting hard to keep that promise in Washington, D.C. The bad news is that other lawmakers are standing in the way of giving small businesses relief from one of the most absurd mandates I've ever seen. As a small-business owner in Little Rock, I'm tired of politicians who don't keep their word.

Congress has been debating whether to repeal the so-called "Corporate Transparency Act." Unless you're a small-business owner, you probably haven't heard of this law, but it's a textbook example of government gone wild. The Corporate Transparency Act has nothing to do with corporations or transparency. In reality, it's a redundant, costly, and invasive attack on small businesses of all kinds.

Over eight out of 10 small businesses oppose this mandate. We're right to dislike it. Under the law, which passed Congress in 2021, small-business owners are required to submit personal information to a new federal database. But I already submit all the requested information to other sources. The IRS has it. The Arkansas Secretary of State has it. So do several other federal and state agencies. Instead of codifying another reporting mandate, how about bureaucrats talk to each other?

This is always the way it goes, as more burdens get added to the shoulders of small business. At my janitorial company, I already spend too much time filling out forms and pushing papers because the government demands it. The Corporate Transparency Act adds to the pile. Small businesses often have to hire pricey lawyers just to make sure we're following such laws exactly right. The cost of this single mandate, across all of Main Street, is estimated to be $128 billion. And economists wonder why inflation can't be tamed!.

The law also says that if small businesses don't file in timely manner the right information, we're looking at a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison. That's as heavy-handed as a law can get. It's supposed to help catch criminals, but it assumes that every small-business owner is already a criminal.

Worst of all, to me, is that it appears federal law enforcement agencies or any unknown infiltrators can access the information without a warrant. That's right: In the name of transparency, federal agents can snoop around, looking at whoever and whatever they want. Last I checked, that's an invasion of privacy. I don't know who is accessing my information or what they're doing with it. With both political ideologies now turning to lawfare, we shouldn't encourage intrusion into anyone's small business. Besides, the federal government has plenty of fraud to eradicate in its own administrative structures before it begins harassing the engine of America's job growth.

Thankfully, the Trump administration recognizes this fact. Last year, the Treasury Department exempted small businesses from this mandate and promised to delete the data they've already collected. So as of right now, I'm off the hook. But the law is still the law, even if it's not enforced. The next president could bring back the mandate on day one. The threat is real so long as this law exists. Congress needs to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act altogether.

I'm grateful that Representative Hill is leading the charge as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Sen. John Boozman and Rep. Bruce Westerman also support repeal. Now, Arkansas needs Sen. Tom Cotton and Reps. Steve Womack and Rick Crawford to protect small businesses from this invasive mandate. Womack and Cotton opposed it in 2019, but they reportedly don't support repealing it now.

I guarantee that every congressman and senator in Washington has said on the campaign trail they stand with small business. But if they don't vote to repeal this Main Street mandate, they clearly don't stand with small businesses like mine.

Roger Lacy is owner of D&B Janitorial in Little Rock and a member of the Arkansas Leadership Council at the National Federation of Independent Business.