Operators of some small businesses here and throughout the rest of the country could be facing some unpleasant times if they do not familiarize themselves — and take steps to comply — with a new federal disclosure rule that took effect Jan. 1. According to an article in the Feb. 10–11 Wall Street Journal, the new federal rule in question now requires more than 32 million small businesses nationwide to file ownership information with what the Journal described as a “little known agency in the U.S. Treasury Department.” Meanwhile, the new filing requirements are mandated by the Corporate Transparency Act, sweeping bipartisan legislation passed in 2021 aimed at curtailing the use of anonymous shell companies and tracking the flow of illicit money. The law creates an ownership database and reporting rules for about 32 million companies across the country to file ownership information with FinCEN — if they have gotten word about this and what is expected of them.