Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is taking action to protect family farms and businesses from a costly mandate while also warning them of scam links related to the Corporate Transparency Act.
Bird has voiced her support for Iowa family farms and businesses, which face new national registration requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act. The mandate, deemed unconstitutional by a federal district court, requires businesses to submit private information to the federal government. Many family-owned farms and businesses, some of which have been operating for decades without such requirements, are unaware of the mandate. Failure to comply could result in fines amounting to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially shutting down these essential local enterprises.
“For many Iowa families, their business isn’t just their job but their livelihood,” said Attorney General Bird. “We are talking about local mom-and-pop shops and farms that have been passed down through families for generations. Iowans spend decades building these businesses from the ground up. They shouldn’t have their livelihoods flipped upside down by an unconstitutional mandate.”
Bird emphasized that the mandate represents a power grab that undermines states’ primary roles in regulating businesses within their borders. Iowa, along with several other states, supports the court’s ruling against the mandate.
In addition to defending these businesses, Attorney General Bird has issued a warning to Iowans about fake links meant to scam business owners seeking Corporate Transparency Act registration information. She offers the following tips to protect themselves:
- Do NOT Send Money: Corporate Transparency Act registration does not include a registration fee. Any website demanding payment is a scam.
- Double-check: Ensure that you are using a trusted, government website to submit your registration information, such as fincen.gov/boi.
- Look for Typos: Verify that the website URL does not include misspellings.
Iowans who suspect a Corporate Transparency Act scam should contact the Iowa Attorney General’s Office at 1-888-777-4590 or file a complaint online at https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/file-a-consumer-complaint.
