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. ce €� the Gen€. r€.�I Counsel r. r . E^+ t? '1 k 'i: li?;i'7'fd 1 'R1:.2 'f' Nf: • iY'.t<. FIT K 1A? 37 .. i. 194. . ? � :�i4t .'r �k: F:kx %? CP 541 , {'S 21 7 1 IMPORTANT GROUP RULING INFORMATION June 20 , 2003 FOR THE INFORMATION OF : Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops , Diocesan Attorneys and State Conference Directors SUBJECT: 2003 Group Ruling FROM : Mark E . Chopko , General Counsel ( Staff. Deirdre Dessingue , Associate General Counsel ) Enclosed is a copy of the Group Ruling issued to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on June 10 , 2003 by the Internal Revenue Service ( " IRS " ) , with respect to the federal tax status of Catholic organizations listed in the 2003 edition of the Official Catholic Directory ("OCD " ) '--1. As explained in greater detail below, this ruling is important for establishing : ( 1 ) the exemption of such organizations from : ( a ) federal income tax ; ( b ) federal unemployment tax (but see 115 of " Explanation " below) ; and (2 ) the deductibility, for federal income , gift and estate tax purposes , of contributions to such organizations . The 2003 Group Ruling is the latest in a series that began with the original determination of March 25 , 1946 . In the 1946 document, the Treasury Department affirmed the exemption from federal income tax of all Catholic institutions listed in the OCD for that year. Each year since 1946 , in a separate letter, the 1946 ruling has been extended to cover the institutions listed in the current OCD '-/. The language of these rulings has remained relatively unchanged , except to reflect intervening modifications in the Internal Revenue Code (" Code " ) . The 2003 Group Ruling is consistent with the 2002 ruling . Annual group rulings clarify important tax consequences for Catholic institutions listed in the OCD , and should be retained for ready reference . Rulings from earlier years are important to establish the tax consequences of transactions that occurred during those years . Responsibilities under Group Ruling . Diocesan officials who compile OCD information 1 A copy of the Group Ruling may also be found on the USCCB website at www. usccb. org/ogc. 2 Catholic organizations with independent IRS exemption determination letters are listed in the 2003 OCD with an asterisk (*), which is explained at page A-6 and indicates that such organizations are not covered by the Group Ruling.