Corporation sole

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A corporation sole in English law is a legal entity consisting of a single person ("sole"). This allows the corporation to pass vertically from one holder of a position to the next, giving the position legal continuity.

Most corporations sole are church-related; for example the Archbishop of Canterbury is a corporation sole. In contrast to a corporation sole, a corporation aggregate consists of two or more persons, typically comprising a board of directors.

The corporation sole is inherently compatible with certain churches, and in particular the Roman Catholic Church, because of its top-down governance by bishops. A single bishop governs an entire geographic region of churches, known as a "diocese." Church property is titled to the bishop who serves in the office of the "corporation sole." It is largely because of the need in certain churches for a corporation which is governed by a single person that the corporation sole came into existence.

While most corporations sole are used for legitimate and legal church purposes, there has been a widespread abuse in recent years of the formation of many new corporations sole which are being used for tax evasion purposes. As a direct result, the US Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2004-27, warning of abuse of corporations sole under United States tax law.

Most U.S. states which still provide for corporations sole only permit them for religious purposes. However, historically they have been legitimately used for other purposes as well. For example, mayors of certain English towns have traditionally been corporations sole.

Likewise the monarch of the UK is a corporation sole -- she or he may possess property as monarch which is distinct from the property she possesses personally, and may do acts as monarch distinguished from their personal acts. In fact, the British monarch is one natural person but several corporations sole -- Her Majesty in right of the United Kingdom is a distinct legal person from Her Majesty in right of Australia, which is in turn distinct from Her Majesty in right of Canada, and Her Majesty in right of New Zealand, and so on. Likewise, she has a distinct corporation sole for each of the Australian states.

LIST:
Recently established (by statue) corporations sole in the United Kingdom include