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 corporation soles are used for legitimate and legal church purposes, there has been a widespread abuse in recent years of the formation of many new corporation soles which are being used for tax evasion purposes. As a direct result, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2004-27, warning of corporation sole abuse.
