US House approves bill to promote corporate transparency News
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US House approves bill to promote corporate transparency

The US House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday aimed at promoting corporate transparency.

The bill, known as the “Corporate Transparency Act of 2019,” would require people who form “corporations and limited liability companies” to provide information about their identity, including their full name, date of birth, current street address and some sort of identifying number, such as a driver’s license number. Currently, around 2 million “corporations and limited liability companies are being formed” each year, but only a small number of states require this kind of information.

Because this information is not currently required by most states, people have been able to conceal their identities and use corporations “to commit crimes affecting interstate and international commerce.” Investigations in these crimes have been difficult because of “the lack of available beneficial ownership information”.

The bill passed in the House of Representatives in a 249-173 vote.