LOS ANGELES — Performers and creators who have formed limited liability companies (LLCs) are being advised to consult with accounting and legal professionals before the Jan. 1, 2024 implementation of the new Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
The CTA was enacted in 2021 in order to “enhance transparency in entity structures and ownership to combat money laundering, tax fraud, and other illicit activities,” Thomson Reuters reported, noting that the law was designed to “capture more information about the ownership of specific entities operating in or accessing the U.S. market.”
The CTA compels U.S. LLC-holders to register any other entity owned by or created by them, and to submit their personal information, including Social Security numbers, to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
After its 2021 passage, the CTA “was largely ignored by accounting professionals at first,” Thomson Reuters noted. As the effective date approaches in a few weeks, however, “people are starting to panic.”
Some adult performers and creators have registered LLCs, with many having done so between 2018 and 2020, following the passage of several new California labor regulations concerning freelance work.
XBIZ consulted with industry attorney Corey Silverstein of Silverstein Legal, who explained, “It makes perfect sense that individual performers who have formed an entity that falls within the CTA — and does not meet one of the exemptions — are concerned.”
However, Silverstein noted, it is important to point out that for those individuals who have sought an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for their LLC and provided accurate information on their tax returns, the U.S. government already has access to that data.
Nonetheless, Silverstein concluded, “Anyone who has formed an entity, including individual performers, agencies and website operators — especially those who have not applied for an EIN before — should be consulting with their lawyers and accountants regarding the CTA before the start of the new year.”
Fellow attorney Nick Zargarpour noted that the CTA also applies to people that have formed corporations other than LLCs, and that CTA compliance may require providing information beyond what industry members may have provided when registering their business entities or filing taxes.
"Unless you are subject to one of the exemptions — which most companies in this industry will not be — you still have to file with FinCEN," Zargarpour advised.
