Treasury Department grants victory for Main Street employers regarding Corporate Transparency Act
On Aug. 11, the Treasury Department finalized its revised beneficial ownership information reporting rule and committed to permanently deleting the sensitive personal data prematurely collected from millions of small-business owners. This is a significant victory for Main Street and the latest chapter in NRCA’s longstanding fight against the Corporate Transparency Act. This action resulted from advocacy efforts in April, when NRCA and allied associations called on Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent to purge the BOI database submitted by domestic entities that are no longer required to file.
The Corporate Transparency Act was originally passed by Congress as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 to crack down on the illicit activities of shell companies. NRCA has long opposed the law because it would require small-business owners—who pose no risk to national security—to provide sensitive private data to the federal government under the guise of combatting illicit finance. In 2025, the administration narrowed the Corporate Transparency Act’s scope to apply to foreign entities only. Before the Treasury Department corrected course, about 16 million domestic entities had submitted sensitive data to the government.
Although the Aug. 11 action by the Treasury Department is welcome news, the effort to permanently repeal the Corporate Transparency Act is not over. The rule makes permanent the interim guidance issued last spring, which narrowed reporting to foreign entities only. But that relief exists at the discretion of the Trump administration and can be reversed by a future administration. NRCA will continue working with lawmakers regarding statutory repeal once and for all.
Trump announces tariffs on solar products
On Aug. 6, President Trump signed an executive proclamation imposing a 15% ad valorem tariff on imported polysilicon, solar cells, modules and derivative components. The tariff applies to polysilicon and downstream products on top of existing duties, with some adjustments applicable to specific U.S. trading partners. The proclamation also establishes minimum import prices across the supply chain for polysilicon, ingots and wafers and solar cells, modules and panels. In addition, the Commerce Department is authorized to create an incentive program in which companies that commit to building domestic manufacturing facilities for covered products can qualify for duty-free equipment and product imports during construction that starts before Jan. 20, 2029.
The tariffs and minimum import prices will take effect 120 days after issuance of the announcement, which is Dec. 4. The tariffs and other components of the proclamation are designed to bolster domestic production by incentivizing the onshoring of solar-rated products. View a White House fact sheet for more information.
IRS issues updated guidance regarding “No Tax on Overtime” deduction
On Aug. 6, the IRS issued updated guidance on the “No Tax on Overtime” deduction, which was a provision established in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). The updated FAQ are available in Fact Sheet FS-2026-13 and revised FS-2026-01, which were originally issued in January. Please note, there is a section dedicated to employer information and requirements. Key tenets of the updated rule include the following:
- It’s a deduction, not tax-free overtime.
- It applies only to qualified overtime compensation required under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- The maximum deduction is $12,500 per year for single filers and $25,000 for married couples filing jointly.
- The deduction begins phasing out when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $150,000 for single filers and $300,000 for married couples filing jointly.
- It applies only for tax years 2025-28.
- Social Security and Medicare taxes still apply to overtime.
Senate considers Faster Labor Contracts Act
In June, the House approved the Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R. 5408) on a bipartisan vote, with 20 Republicans joining all Democrats in supporting the measure. The bill would modify federal law to require mandatory arbitration in instances where employers and unions cannot agree on a collective bargaining contract within 120 days after authorization. This would result in government-appointed arbitrators setting the terms and conditions of the labor contract and would likely be the most significant change in federal labor law since passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. NRCA and many other business groups oppose this legislation because of concerns it would discard the “voluntary agreement” principle that has been the cornerstone of federal law for decades and would vastly expand federal control of private businesses.
The bill is now before the Senate, where Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the lead sponsor of the Senate companion bill (S. 844), has been pushing for a vote in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. The chairman of the committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), opposes the legislation and so far has blocked efforts to bring it to a vote. However, the Senate bill has bipartisan support and could be added as an amendment to other legislation being considered by the Senate later this year. NRCA will continue advocating against this problematic legislation in the upper chamber.
