Adverse tax rulings affect exemptions for clergy and religious

Recent court cases illustrate the federal government's changing position toward automatic tax exemptions for members of religious institutes who are employed outside their institute. Before 1977, the IRS seemed inclined to assume that members acted as agents for their institute and that their income would not be taxable. In Fogarty v. U.S. the court ruled that a priest's income from a university teaching position was taxable because he was not acting as an agent for the Jesuits. In Schuster v. Commissioner, the court held for the government, stating that the "triangle relationship" among employee, outside third-party employer, and principal/religious institute was insufficient to warrant the necessary agency relationships. Samson v. U.S. questioned whether Sr. Mary K. Samson's county hospital work constituted "employment" for FICA tax purposes. The court concluded the tax was assessable on her wages because she was a county employee. It denied a rehearing after a dissenting judge concluded that past rulings were inconsistent and had little bearing on FICA taxation. The legal view of religious tax exemption is much narrower than 10 years ago. Catholic institutes must closely analyze the relationship between their members and outside third-party employers to avoid taxation. They must legally assert their control over their members' actions before the employment is in effect.