IRS vow of poverty rulings: inconsistent, confused

The determinant in taxing the income that members of religious congregations receive for services should not be whether the member is an employee, but rather the congregation's direction and control of the member. On the basis of the current IRS focus on the member's employment status, logic suggests that employers are taxable on the wages they pay their employees. On the following pages attorney Albert Feuer analyzes the problem's legal history and highlights the ambiguity flowing from recent revenue rulings.