The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a federal law that came into effect on January 1, 2024, requiring all domestic or foreign legal entities operating in the U.S. to file reports on themselves, their beneficial owners, and company applicants. The CTA aims to improve business transparency, combat terrorism, money laundering, tax abuse, and other financial crimes, and fill the beneficial ownership gap in existing U.S. anti-money laundering laws. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) collects information from reporting companies not exempt from the CTA, requiring them to provide beneficial ownership information for owners with 25% or more ownership or substantial control over about 30 million businesses in the U.S., primarily small and medium-sized businesses. The CTA aims to combat economic fraud and financial wrongdoing, particularly against shell companies that have been used for illicit financial activities.