Update on Bill Actions

• April 16, 2025.  Final update.  The Indiana Governor signed House Enrolled Act 1593, which will take effect July 1, 2025.  Watch for another article from us explaining what business lawyers and business owners need to know or do, now that HEA 1593 is law.

The Bill

The post Indiana House Bill 1593: Fraud Prevention appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

As the situation changes, and rather than continue to post blog after blog on the current status of the BOI reporting requirements, all updates will live on this post for now.  As we endeavor to provide updates as soon as possible in one central location, please be aware that there may be delays. If you would like our office to file the BOI on behalf of your business, please contact our office.

Current status of CTA Reporting Requirements:  MANDATORY (Updated: 02/21/2025) 

The post More Changes to Enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act and BOIRs appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a statement that all reports during the preliminary injunction are considered “voluntary” and there will be no penalty for reporting companies who fail to file during that period. In their statement, FinCEN maintains that they believe the CTA is constitutional and vital in protecting the United States and its citizens from financial and other crimes. 

What does this statement mean, if anything, for your small business?  

The post FinCEN Issues Update on Beneficial Ownership Information Reports appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

 At least they were before this week. On December 3, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland (civil action number 4:24-CV-478) ruled that the CTA is likely unconstitutional and issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the BOIR requirement. In doing so, the court wrote, “[R]eporting companies need not comply with the CTA’s January 1, 2025, BOI reporting deadline pending further order of the Court.”

For several reasons, this is not the last word on the CTA.  First, the Government has already appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which could set aside the preliminary injunction.

The post Companies Need Not File Beneficial Ownership Information Reports – at least for now  appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

Even though a proper appraisal is the wheelhouse of experts, small business owners should understand the fundamental principles. In this article, we’ll explore the basics to help you know what to expect from a valuation.

Why Business Valuation Matters

The post Basics of Business Valuation: A Guide for Business Owners in Indiana  appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

What is the purpose of the CTA?

The purpose of the Corporate Transparency Act, passed by Congress in 2021 on a bipartisan basis, is to make it harder for bad actors to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures. The BOIR provides law enforcement with information that may not otherwise be readily available to them.

The post New Federal Reporting Requirement for Business Entities appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

The owners of corporations are called shareholders and their ownership rights are embodied in shares of stock, a form of intangible personal property comprising a bundle of rights, some economic and some non-economic.  The principal economic right is the right to receive dividends (usually cash) from the corporation, and the principal non-economic right is the right to vote in an election of directors and other matters that may be submitted to a vote of the shareholders. Although there can be restrictions (typically set out in the company’s articles of incorporation or bylaws, or a contract among shareholders or between a shareholder and the corporation), stock is generally transferable from one person to another. A person who acquires stock (thus becoming a shareholder) receives both sets of rights, economic (dividends) and non-economic (voting). It makes no difference how the person acquires the stock –by purchase, by gift, by inheritance, as compensation to an employee, or by court order (in a divorce or otherwise); a person who owns stock holds both economic and non-economic rights.

Limited liability companies also have economic and non-economic rights.  The principal economic right is the right to receive distributions (usually cash) from the company, and the principal non-economic right is the right to participate in the management of the company’s business and affairs. A crucial distinction between LLCs and corporations is that the economic and non-economic rights associated with LLCs are not bundled together in a single package the way those rights in a corporation are bundled together in stock.

The post LLC Membership and Interest appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

Country Contractors was incorporated in 1983 as a seller of ready-mix concrete under the name Country Concrete, Inc.  In the 1990’s the company expanded its business to include construction work and excavation. Over the years, Country Contractors owned a substantial amount of assets in the form of construction equipment that it leased to other contractors.  In 2007 the corporation changed its name to Country Contractors, Inc. and amended its articles of incorporation to better reflect its expanded line of business.  Its two shareholders served as the board of directors, but three other people were responsible for running the company from day to day — preparing bids, executing contracts, and supervising the work.

In 2007, Westside engaged Country Contractors to perform excavation and construction services for the price of $235,000.  Country Contractors subcontracted much of the work, which began in 2008.  The two owners were not involved in the negotiation or execution of the contract, nor did they supervise the work.

The post Veil Piercing: Plaintiff Left With No Recourse, and That’s Okay appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

• Part I — an introduction.
• Part II — a discussion of IC 23‑0.5, the Uniform Business Organizations Code.

The post Indiana Business Entity Harmonization: Postscript appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.

This is the last in four-part series. The first three parts are here: here, here, and here.

This Part IV describes some flaws of Senate Enrolled Act 443 that we ran across while writing the first three parts.  We hope the General Assembly will address them, either in the 2018 session or another.

The post Indiana Business Entity Harmonization: Part IV appeared first on Indiana Business Law Blog.