If you grow or are interested in growing specialty crops, the Mid-Ohio Grower’s meeting is a great conference to kick-off 2025. You can find more information about the conference using this link. There is a good line-up of speakers as well as vendor space with plenty of opportunity to network with other folks in the specialty crop industry.
Written by Jeffrey K. Lewis, Esq., Program Coordinator, Income Tax Schools
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has given us another holiday surprise! The nationwide injunction on the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) and its beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) reporting requirements is once again in effect.
On December 23, 2024, we reported that the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had lifted a nationwide injunction on the CTA and its BOI reporting requirements. Consequently, all reporting obligations were reinstated for businesses nationwide. Following the Fifth Circuit’s decision to stay the injunction, the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) extended the filing deadline for most reporting companies to January 13, 2025. We knew at the time that this would not be the last we would hear of the CTA and BOI reporting requirements, but what we did not know was how quickly another update would occur.
On December 26th, just days after lifting the nationwide injunction, the Fifth Circuit issued another order vacating its stay, effectively reinstating the nationwide injunction and halting the BOI reporting requirements under the CTA once more. The court ruled that the order from the motions-panel granting the stay on the injunction be vacated “in order to preserve the constitutional status quo while the merits panel considers the parties’ weighty substantive arguments. . .” Continue reading Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements Suspended Once Again . . . For Now
Four new articles have been posted in this week’s issue number 1427 of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/
Hope you all had a great Holiday . . . after the summer we experienced who could have imagined it would be a muddy one? This week we explore the challenges mud can present.
Articles this week include:
Newsletter release by Stan Smith, OSU Extension ANR Program Assistant, Fairfield County
Written by Jeffrey K. Lewis, Esq., Program Coordinator, Income Tax Schools.
In a recent blog post, we discussed a federal district court’s issuance of a nationwide injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), temporarily halting the requirement for businesses to file “beneficial ownership information” (“BOI”) reports with the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). In that post, we promised to keep you updated on the legal status of the CTA and its BOI reporting requirements. Well, we are here to tell you that the saga continues . . .
As of December 23, 2024, that nationwide injunction is no longer enforceable, and the BOI reporting requirements of the CTA have been reinstated. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay on the nationwide injunction. The Fifth Circuit found that the government made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed in proving that the CTA is constitutional. The court explained that Congress exercised its broad authority under the Commerce Clause to pass the CTA, aiming to regulate the anonymous ownership and operation of businesses that constitute an “economic class of activities” significantly affecting interstate commerce. Consequently, the court determined that the reporting requirement for such businesses is within the scope of the Commerce Clause. Continue reading Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements
If unable to attend one of the sessions offered here in Lorain County, you can explore other session locations and dates here: https://pested.osu.edu/privaterecertification.
Written by Robert Moore, Attorney, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program.
Note: The following article was written by Sarah Hoak, an undergraduate student in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State. Sarah was a student in the Agribusiness Law Class at OSU this past semester. Sarah researched and wrote this article to expand her knowledge and understanding of pesticide use policy, a topic of great interest to her.
On August 20, 2024, the EPA announced its final Herbicide Strategy. Many in the agriculture community are wondering what the strategy is, how it came to be and what it means for the industry.
The herbicide strategy is one part of the EPA’s workplan to protect endangered species. It was created in response to multiple lawsuits filed against the EPA for failure to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by not conducting mandatory consultations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA is the primary federal law that regulates pesticide use in the U.S. and prevents the sale or use of a pesticide in the United States until the EPA approves and registers a label for the product. After a pesticide label is approved, the EPA must review the label every fifteen years to ensure that it continues to meet federal requirements with regards to the environment and human health. However, the EPA has struggled to complete ESA consultations when registering pesticides or reviewing their labels. Just one ESA consultation can take years to complete, and time adds up when there are over 17,000 registered pesticide products on the market.
To better comply with the ESA and reduce the risk of more litigation, the EPA drafted the Herbicide Strategy. This policy was designed to start the protection of endangered species earlier in the regulatory process. Instead of acting after the fact, the strategy aims to mitigate herbicide exposure to endangered species at the start. The strategy lays out a set of mitigation guidelines that growers and applicators will need to follow as they apply an herbicide. These mitigation practices will help limit herbicide exposure to endangered species. A draft policy of the strategy was released in 2023 and underwent the public comment process. Because the EPA is a government agency, they have the power to make and enforce regulations. The public can share their input on drafted regulations during the “comment period,” which is a 30–60-day time frame where government agencies will hear comments from the public¹. Continue reading EPA’s New Herbicide Strategy: What is it and where did it come from?
Written by Peggy Kirk Hall, Attorney and Director, Agricultural & Resource Law Program
Our Agricultural & Resource Law Program team is excited to be part of the new Northeast Ohio Ag Innovation Center (NEO-AIC), a center that targets farm-based value-added businesses in Northeast Ohio. Based at OSU’s campus in Wooster, Ohio, the center offers individual assessment and assistance to farmers in the Northeast region of the state who want to add or expand their production of value-added food, fiber, or fuel products. Ohio State’s center is the newest of the USDA-funded Ag Innovation Centers, which includes seven other centers in Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri and Indiana.
The center will focus on “value-added agriculture,” which refers to enhancing an agricultural product by altering its physical state, production method, or marketing approach, ultimately broadening the customer base for the product. Examples include: Continue reading OSU’s new center will help Northeast Ohio farmers with value-added production
Written by Robert Moore, Attorney, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program.
Business entities like LLCs are often promoted by attorneys for their ability to provide liability protection. These structures are designed to shield the owners of a business from personal liability for the activities of the business. This protection helps safeguard existing businesses and encourages entrepreneurship by reducing the risk to owners’ personal assets. However, this liability protection is not automatic.
The concept of liability protection hinges on the principle that the law treats the business entity as a separate legal person. Owners of LLCs and corporations are generally not liable for the actions of the entity. To maintain this protection, the business must be operated distinctly from its owner(s). Failing to do so can result in “piercing the corporate veil,” exposing the owners to personal liability.
What is Piercing the Corporate Veil?
Piercing the corporate veil occurs when a court disregards the separation between the business and its owners, holding the owners personally liable for the business’s obligations. This typically happens when the owners fail to treat the business as a separate entity.
One of the most common reasons for piercing the veil is the misuse of business funds. For instance, if an owner consistently uses the business account for personal expenses like meals or groceries, it indicates that the business is not truly independent. A legitimate business entity would not pay for personal expenses unrelated to its operations. Continue reading Beware of “Piercing the Corporate Veil”
Five new articles have been posted in this week’s issue number 1426 of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/
As a challenging 2024 comes to a close, check out the meetings, programs, and workshops we have planned for next year by visiting https://u.osu.edu/beefteam/events-programs/ . If you don’t see what you’re looking for, stay tuned . . . there are more yet to come!
Articles this week include:
Newsletter release by Stan Smith, OSU Extension ANR Program Assistant, Fairfield County
