The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that it is again going to enforce the beneficial ownership interest (BOI) rule that was enacted as part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). But, FinCEN said on February 27 that it will not impose fines or penalties until after it finalizes new reporting rules that would narrow the BOI reporting rule to foreign reporting companies. The new reporting deadline is March 21, 2025.

President Trump’s March 4 address to a joint session of Congress included a call for tax cuts along with most of his other campaign promises and priorities. The speech (technically not a State of the Union speech due to its occurrence at the beginning of his term) was well-received by President Trump’s GOP base, but characterized as divisive by those who do not support him.

On February 28, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the agency will no longer accept public comments on many of its rulemaking initiatives. This could impact rules important to NAIFA members, such as many Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules, including compensation for advisors on ACA insurance purchases.

Staffing cuts, federal agency and program relocation, and contract review (and potential cancellation) have started across the federal government. In conjunction with the Administration's “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) (it is not a formal Cabinet department as it has not been established by law), all federal agencies have been ordered to put together a plan to reduce the federal workforce (starting with last month’s termination of thousands of probationary employees) by mid-March. The agencies must also draw up plans, by mid-April, to move agencies and programs out of Washington, DC to less expensive parts of the country. Agencies are also reviewing contracts they have with private sector service providers, with an eye to cancelling those that are not required by law or are otherwise not “mission critical.”

On Feb. 27, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Social Security Expansion Act, a bill that would increase Social Security (SS) benefits by $2,400/year, fully fund the program for 75 years, and apply the SS payroll tax to all income above $250,000/year.

On Feb. 19, bipartisan bicameral legislation was introduced that would make permanent several provisions of tax-favored ABLE accounts. The bill’s sponsors say that ABLE accounts help people with disabilities save for their future and ease the burden on those who support them.

On Feb. 14, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) Acting General Counsel, William Cowen, rescinded two general counsel (GC) memos opining that virtually all non-compete and stay-or-pay agreements would violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This action does not resolve all the non-compete agreement issues currently in play, but it does signal a shift in NLRB thinking on the issues.

On Feb. 26, the House Education & the Workforce Committee held a hearing focused on over-regulation of business. Titled “Unleashing America’s Workforce and Strengthening Our Economy,” the hearing focused on the adverse impact of a slew of recent regulations, including overtime pay (the white-collar exemption) and worker classification.

Senators closely questioned Department of Labor (DOL) Deputy Secretary nominee Keith Sonderling during his February 27 confirmation hearing before the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Sonderling has been nominated to serve in the number 2 spot at DOL. He vowed to undertake a wholesale review of every DOL enforcement division, and to make sure that DOL has the resources it needs to carry out its mission.

On March 10, the Senate voted to confirm former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to be Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). The 67 to 32 vote was bipartisan and included some GOP opposition as well as some Democratic support.

President Trump has nominated Daniel Aronowitz to lead the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). Aronowitz is currently the president of ENCORE Fiduciary, an underwriter of insurance designed to protect employee benefits plans and trustees from fiduciary liability.

On March 12, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) along with Representatives Kathey Castor (D-FL) and Deborah Ross (D-NC) introduced the Insurance Fraud Accountability Act, which would impose civil and criminal penalties on agents and brokers engaging in misleading or fraudulent activities in the ACA marketplace, including enrolling individuals in plans without their consent and using deceptive marketing to target vulnerable groups.

President Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress are officially in power, and have begun work on an aggressive, high-profile agenda covering among other issues spending cuts, taxes, and shrinking the federal government. Many—maybe most—of these issues could directly impact NAIFA members.

Legislation to make permanent the section 199A deduction for qualifying noncorporate business income has been introduced in both the House and Senate. The legislation is partisan—only Republicans cosponsored it in both chambers of Congress—but the number of cosponsors (35 in the Senate, including most of the Senate GOP’s leadership, and 152 in the House) demonstrates the strength of support for the measure.

On January 3, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), a senior member of the tax-writing Ways & Means Committee, introduced H.R.143, a bill that would make permanent expiring individual tax rates (including section 199A), the standard deduction, the estate tax personal exemption, and other individual tax provisions. The bill also specifically repeals the expiration date of section 199A, the deduction for qualifying noncorporate business income.

In one of his first moves after his January 20 inauguration, President Trump ordered federal agencies to halt rulemaking until the new Administration can review all pending proposed regulations. He also ordered a review of regulations finalized late in the Biden Administration.

In a January 31 executive order (EO), President Trump once again made Treasury tax regulations subject to White House review. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review of tax regulations was not required until President Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021. But then-President Biden reversed that order, again exempting tax regulations from OIRA review. Now, per this latest Trump EO, IRA will again be reviewing proposed tax regulations.

On January 3, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced legislation that would repeal the limits on the kinds of businesses that are eligible for the section 199A deduction for qualifying noncorporate business income. The bill would also repeal the estate tax while retaining the step up in basis for assets passing to heirs after the decedent’s death.

Bipartisan legislation to allow 403(b) retirement savings plans to invest in collective investment trusts (CITs) has been introduced in both the House and Senate. The legislation would amend securities laws to allow for 403(b) CIT investments. Retirement law was amended to allow these CIT investments in SECURE 2.0, but efforts to expand the CIT investment authority to include securities laws fell short at the time.

A bipartisan Senate bill, the “Charitable Act,” would reestablish an above-the-line charitable deduction. The deduction would allow taxpayers who do not itemize to deduct their charitable contributions up to an amount equal to up to one third of the standard deduction.